The Child of Death
by FizzBomb02xox
Summary: This is the story of Bianca. She grows up with the Weasleys after being abandoned as a child, not knowing who her true parents are, but when she eventually finds out who her 'real' family is, her life takes a sudden turn for the worse. I own nothing, all creds to the goddess that is JKR. Rated T just in case slight AU ish.
1. Chapter 1

New story! I hope this is a lot better than the summary makes it seem. It's gonna follow the story of Bianca as she goes through Hogwarts and possibly a little bit of her life after the war. She grows up wirh the Weasley twins but not knowing who her parents really are. Let's just say the truth is a little surprising. Enjoy! :D

Chapter 1

After a stressful day at work, one thing Mr Arthur Weasley was not expecting when he returned from work that night was to see a baby lying in the fields a few miles away from his house. Mr Weasley always apparated a little while away from the Burrow when he had had a particularly difficult day so he could walk through the fields, alongside the river to clear his head and calm down. So naturally, it came as quite the surprise to come across a sleeping baby on the river bank. There was no note, no little letter, nothing. Abandoning a baby when a war was brewing was not Mr Weasley's idea of good parenting.

His wife, Molly had just given birth to the twins, Fred and George, just over a year ago, and this baby girl couldn't be much older than the boys. Not knowing what else to do, Mr Weasley carefully picked up the child who promptly woke up and started screaming.

"Shush, now, little one," Mr Weasley said comfortingly as he rocked the baby, "Let's get you home, shall we?"

He hurried home as quickly as he dared while muttering quietly to the baby as he went. When he finally arrived back at the Burrow, he pushed open the door and placed his work bag by the kitchen table.

It wasn't long before his oldest son, Bill, came up to him, "Hello, daddy! Have you had a good day?"

Bill was nine years old and was always very eager to help his parents look after his younger brothers.

"Hello, Bill. I have, thank you. Do you know where mummy is?"

"She's in the living room with the twins," Bill said eagerly, "Why do you have a baby?"

Mr Weasley, however, ignored his curious son and made beeline for the living room where he found his wife wrestling with the twins who were climbing all over their mother to avoid the food she was trying to give them.

"Molly, dear?" Arthur said awkwardly, taking George off his wife's shoulders.

"Oh, hello Arthur, dear. Did you have a good- oh? Who's this?"

"I'm not sure," Arthur said while struggling to hold a squirming George in one arm, "I came across her on my way home, she was left by the river all alone."

"Oh, the poor thing! Here give her some of this food quickly."

Molly placed Fred on the floor and took the child from Arthur, "Oh she can't be much older than the twins! We must tell someone we have her safely."

"Molly, dear, we don't even know if she's a witch! She might be a muggle!"

"Arthur, that doesn't make a difference. Whether she's muggle or not, she was abandoned and we should look after her until someone comes to find her."

So the parents kept the child. They informed the Ministry of Magic who also informed the Muggle Prime Minister. But no one came for the girl.

By the time Molly had given birth to her sixth son, Ron, the Weasleys had decided to keep the baby. They named her Bianca and when going through paperwork at the ministry decided that her birthday would be the day Arthur found her: the 5th October. Bianca slept in the same room as Fred and George and the three quickly became inseparable. Mr and Mrs Weasley knew that they couldn't let the girl grow up without knowing the truth, so they never pretended that she was their real child, despite telling her to always call them 'mum' and 'dad'.

For reasons unknown, however, Bianca was very quiet. This surprised the rest of the family as she had such a strong friendship with the two loudest people in the house, but Bianca only ever spoke to Fred, George, Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley (or mum and dad), Bill and Charlie. If Ron, Ginny or Percy were in the room, Bianca never opened her mouth. Although not knowing for sure, Molly and Arthur assumed this was because Bianca, or Bea, felt out of place in the Burrow. The poor girl didn't know anything about herself- whether she had magical blood or whether she was a muggle. She didn't even know who her parents were and it saddened Molly and Arthur that she probably never would.

Fred and George always stuck by her side. They always claimed she was brilliant, funny and kind, it was just a shame that the rest of the family never saw that side. The twins could go on for hours about their 'sister'. They'd say how good she was at coming up with pranks, how funny and original her jokes were and how she was so comforting and understanding if one of the boys was upset.

The bond between the three of them was unbreakable. When they were little, if one of them fell ill, the other two would crawl into bed and cuddle each other until they were all better again. They were never seen without each other; completely inseparable.

When she was old enough, Bea made the decision that she wouldn't take the Weasley surname. When George asked her why, she replied, "One day I want to find out who I really am and take my real surname."

So, Bianca grew up without a surname.

About ten years after Mr Weasley first brought Bianca into the Burrow, an owl arrived at the house with a bunch of letters tied to his leg. Mrs Weasley hurried to collect the letters.

Fred, George and Bianca all held hands under the table anxiously as their mother handed out the letters.

"Charlie, Percy…" Mrs Weasley handed the two boys their letters, "George, Fred and- oh Bianca! You have one too!"

Fred, George and Bianca all leapt to their feet and began dancing around the kitchen happily. They were all going to Hogwarts together. When the three of them had calmed down enough to sit back down, Mrs Weasley handed them all their breakfast.

"We'll go shopping tomorrow and get all your supplies so you're ready for September. Oh, Bianca isn't it exciting!"

Bea looked across the table at her 'mother' who was beaming happily.

After breakfast, she and the twins ran up to their room and Bianca squealed in delight.

"I can go with you!" she cried happily as she danced around the room.

"Alright, you don't need to shout," George joked. He always said this when Bianca inputted to a conversation as she was usually silent and subdued around other people.

"You know, Bea," Fred said, "We never would have left you here."

"Yeah," said George, "Even if you hadn't got a letter we'd have smuggled you to Hogwarts with us."

"Yeah, Bill would have helped us get you there and then we'd beg the teachers until they let you stay!"

Bianca laughed, "And what if they wouldn't let me?"

"Charlie says there are suits of armour in the castle," George started.

"We'd hide you in one of those and come and see you between lessons to make sure you were alright!" Fred finished.

"It doesn't matter now though," said George eagerly, "You're a witch too! We can joke and pull pranks and do everything together!"

"Except homework," Fred said, "Bea will do that for us, right Bea?"

"Sure," Bea said thoughtfully, "But when you fail everything it's your fault for not doing your homework."

Fred huffed, "How about we do it, then you check it?"

"Deal," Bea agreed and the three shook hands in a little triangle.

The next morning, Mrs Weasley left Ron and Ginny in the capable hands of Bill and shooed the others towards the fireplace. The group Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and spent a very enjoyable morning in Diagon Alley exploring the shops. Uncountable time, Fred and George tried to run off to snoop around Knockturn Alley but Mrs Weasley kept a close eye on the troublesome boys and caught them time after time.

The small group left the shops a few hours later with empty wallets but bags full of Hogwarts supplies.

"You aren't allowed to use magic outside of school so you may as well put your wands away," Percy said haughtily upon seeing Fred, George and Bianca looking gleefully at their new wands.

"We're just looking at them Perce," Fred said while Bea stuck her tongue out at the elder Weasley.

"Besides," George continued, "It's not like we know any spells yet."

"That was Fred's excuse when he turned Ron's teddy into a spider but there's no other explanation," Percy snapped.

"That was an accident!" Fred shouted, "I didn't mean it!"

"It was still magic," Percy said, "You need to learn to control it otherwise you'll be a danger."

"Hush now, Percy," Mrs Weasley chided, "That's what they're going to school for, after all."

"I still don't know how Bianca is going to perform spells if she refuses to speak," Percy continued as if the girl wasn't there, "How is she going to say the incantation clearly?"

Fred and George balled their fists and Bianca scowled.

"Oi, Perce," Charlie said from a few steps ahead, "Shut your stupid know-it-all mouth for one second, will you?"

"Charlie!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed.

"What? Mum, have you heard what he's saying about Bea? I bet you anything she'll turn out a better witch than any of us." Charlie winked at Bianca and continued to walk behind his mother as they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron, stumbling over the numerous bags they carried.

When they all returned to the Burrow, Bea, George and Fred all bounded up the stairs to their room to pack. There was still a week left before the first of September but the three were so excited, they simply had to do something. After collecting their hand-me-downs from Bill and Charlie (the refused to take anything which had belonged to Percy), they slammed their trunks shut and collapsed on George's bed.

"Well," said Fred.

"We only have a week left here before we head off to school," George continued.

"How about we cause a bit of chaos?" Fred suggested.

"Mum says there're gnomes in the garden again," Bea said, "We could put one in Percy's socks."

"Brilliant!" George exclaimed, "Come on, we have a garden to de-gnome."

Mrs Weasley was more than surprised when Bianca, Fred and George arrived downstairs offering to help de-gnome the garden.

"You're actually willing to help?" she asked, shocked.

"Well, we thought that because we only have about a week left at home," Fred started.

"That we should do something to make up for the painful months when we won't be here to offer our lovely assistance and provide entertainment and joy," George continued.

"So we thought we'd help get rid of the gnomes," Bianca finished quietly.

Mrs Weasley smiled proudly, "I'll get Charlie to help you, shall I?"

"Don't worry, mum, we can manage," George smiled but it was too late.

Charlie, who was already on his way to the kitchen, heard his name and hurried in, "Yeah I'll help. Make sure you don't miss any."

"Charlie watch they don't get bitten. Good boy."

Fred and George huffed and followed their older brother into the garden. As soon as the door closed behind them, Charlie turned on his younger siblings, "So why did you really offer to de-gnome the garden?" he asked.

"We wanted to prank Percy," George sighed, "But I suppose you'll snitch on us if we do."

"Don't be stupid, I'll help you! Percy needs to be put in his place. What's the plan?"

"We're going to put a gnome in his sock!" Fred explained excitedly, "It was Bea's idea."

"Brilliant!" Charlie cried.

Bianca blushed as she knelt down to scoop up a gnome from under a bush and throw it over the fence, "It's not the most original idea in the world," she said modestly, "And we did a similar thing once with Bill's underpants and a bowtruckle, remember?"

"I can't believe our little innocent Bianca has such a devilish brain," Charlie joked, "We can't underestimate her just because she doesn't speak."

"Silent but deadly," Fred laughed, causing the whole garden to fall into hysterics.

"I'm not silent," Bianca protested when she'd calmed down enough to speak.

"Yeah, not in front of us, you aren't," George said, "If only the rest of the world knew what a little fiend you are."

Bianca purposefully threw a gnome in the direction of George's head. With its stubby arms, the gnome latched on to George's ear where it clambered onto his head, slid down his hair and bit him on the nose.

"Ouch!" George cried.

"Oops!" Bianca said, shrugging, "Guess I let go too early."

Charlie yanked the gnome from his brother's nose and chucked it over the fence after the rest of them.

Not long after, the garden was emptied of gnomes and Charlie had one safely stowed in his pocket, "You go and tell mum you've finished," he said, "I'll meet you outside Percy's room."

"We did it, mum," Fred announced, "They're all gone."

"Oh thank you! Where's Charlie?"

"He came back inside," George lied quickly, "Said he got bored."

"Oh, that boy!" Mrs Weasley sighed, "Off you go, perhaps you could send Percy down to help me chop some vegetables for dinner?"

"Of course, mum."

The three ran up the rickety stairs to find Charlie standing excitedly outside Percy's room.

"Get him to go downstairs," George whispered, "Mum wants him."

Fred, George and Bianca hid around the corner while Charlie convinced his brother to go downstairs. Then, the four of them snuck into Percy's room. It took them a while to find his sock drawer as Percy seemed to have endless units full of work and books but finally, Fred opened a drawer to reveal dozens of socks which were all arranged in colour order and folded neatly. Charlie snorted and mumbled something along the lines of 'Only Percy' before taking a sock, unfolding it, and stuffing the gnome inside it. He lay the sock carefully on top of the others so as not to disturb the organised specimen that was Percy's sock drawer.

And then all they could do was wait.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As usual, the Weasley family was running late on the morning of the first of September. They hurried through King's Cross, with Percy striding ahead while Charlie and Bill were telling Fred, George and Bianca all about Hogwarts with much enthusiasm. Mrs Weasley was bringing up the rear, dragging Ron and Ginny with her. Both of the youngest Weasleys were putting up quite a fight as they were jealous of their older siblings.

"No listen," their mother chided, "You won't be alone. You'll have each other and Bill will be home as well to play with you."

"But Bill isn't as funny as Fred and George!" Ginny screeched.

"Ouch," Bill joked, "That hurt little sis."

"It's the hard truth, Bill," Charlie said, patting his brother on the back sympathetically, "We just don't have their brilliant sense of humour."

"Will you all _please_ hurry up?" Percy called from a few steps ahead, "The train leaves in precisely 11 minutes and I for one don't want to miss it!"

"Alright Percy, keep your hair on," Charlie said before returning to his younger siblings who were eagerly asking about arriving at the castle. "I don't want to ruin the surprise!" was all Charlie would say in answer to their questions.

"How do we get sorted?" Fred asked excitedly.

"Oh," Bill said, "It's a difficult business, the sorting. Takes all sorts of skill and effort!"

"Mmm," Charlie played along, "It's very strenuous but I'm sure you three will manage it."

"Wicked! What do we have to do?" George demanded.

"I couldn't tell you that!" Bill said, "That would give an unfair advantage!"

"Good!" Fred said, "I want to make sure we aren't sorted into one of the naff houses!"

"Stop being utterly ridiculous!" Percy snapped, "The sorting isn't difficult at all! All you do is sit on a stool and the Sorting hat announces which house you'll be put into!"

"Oi, Percy," Bill said angrily, "You don't always have to be a massive spoilsport, you know. Let us have a bit of fun for once."

"It seems that when I let you have fun I end up with gnomes in my socks and a distinct lack of a baby toenail!"

"We didn't think you'd put the sock on!" Protested Fred.

"Yeah," George agreed, "If we knew it was going to bite you, we'd have up it in your pants instead!"

"George!" Mrs Weasley scolded and the others all burst into laughter and Percy started towards the twins.

"Now listen here, all three of you-"

"Hey!" Fred said, "Leave Bea out of this! She had nothing to do with the gnome!"

"Of course she did! She was helping you and Charlie de-gnome the garden and when is she not in on your silly pranks?"

Fred and George were extremely protective over Bianca. They hated seeing her in trouble so always went to great lengths to keep her in 'the good books'.

"If you run around Hogwarts causing trouble, I will personally report you to Professor McGonagall. I don't care if you're my brothers, I won't have you giving our family a bad name!"

Mrs Weasley interrupted their small argument by pushing Percy towards the metal barrier in front of them, "Hurry now, quickly Percy. Fred, George, you go after your brother."

The twins took each other's hands and, using their free hands to push their trolleys, began to run towards the wall.

"Now, Bianca, dear, go through with Charlie. Bill, will you follow me through with Ron?"

Charlie smiled up at her older brother who smiled down at her. Silent excitement was bubbling up inside her but it was at war with her nerves. There'd be so many new people for her to be around! Fred and George would look after her, they always did, but what if she couldn't make friends because she didn't ever speak? Percy had been right, of course, when he said she wouldn't be able to perform any spells if she didn't open her mouth to try. He'd told her that non-verbal spells were extremely difficult to perform and Bianca doubted she'd be able to master them before someone realised she couldn't execute even the simplest of spells. The poor girl didn't even have a surname! Everything about Bianca screamed 'Bully Me', but that was why she had Fred and George. Bea knew they'd be popular before they even set foot in the castle so she really didn't have anything to worry about.

After taking a few seconds to convince herself of this, Bianca gripped Charlie's outstretched hand and ran with him towards Platform 9 ¾. Running through the barrier was an odd sensation. For not even a second, Bianca felt as though her body was split between two places; partially on platform nine in London King's Cross station, and partially in some sort of void between worlds. But the magical feeling didn't last long enough and Bianca soon found herself standing on a packed train station platform in front of a scarlet red steam engine.

She shivered slightly and weaved her way around the crowds to find the twins. It wasn't long before Mrs Weasley and Bill arrived with Ron and Ginny, who was sitting on her older brother's shoulders.

"Now, have a brilliant time, all of you! Fred, George, make sure to behave yourselves, try not to get expelled within your first week. Bea, sweetie, keep them in line for me," Mrs Weasley said, kissing all of her children on the cheek, "On you hop, you don't want to miss the train. Make sure you write to tell me what house you're all put in!"

That one sentence sent a million fresh worries into Bianca's mind. What if she was sorted separately to the twins? Since she was first brought to the Burrow, there wasn't a single day that she'd spent apart from Fred and George.

The twins seemed to be having similar anxieties and the three shared nervous glances before squeezing each other's hands in comfort and climbing onto the train to find a compartment.

Once they'd found a free compartment to sit in, George helped Bianca store her trunk above the seats before turning, ensuring the door was closed securely and saying confidently, "We're staying together."

"Agreed," Bianca said, "I'm not going a day without you two."

"Too right you aren't," Fred said, "We stay together."

Bianca opened her mouth to say something in response but shut it tightly again when the carriage door slid open and a nervous looking boy with dreadlocks poked his head in.

"Could I… could I sit with you? It's just, I don't know anyone else and it's my first year."

"Of course!" George said, "Nice to meet you, I'm Fred, and this is my twin brother Gorge."

"Pleasure to make your acquaintance," Fred announced, stepping forward and bowing, "I'm Fred and this is my twin brother George- oh hang on, who's who again, Fred?"

The boy laughed, already looking more comfortable in the boy's presence, "I'm Lee. Lee Jordan."

"We're Fred and George Weasley, and this is Bianca."

"Erm, which is which?"

"I'm George," they both said, pointing at each other, "Oi! I'm George!"

Bianca shook her head and snuggled into the corner of the compartment, gazing out the window. Obviously, she had nothing against Lee- he seemed genuinely lovely- but she wanted some time to talk to Fred and George and be herself before too many people came in. Bianca was itching to get to Hogwarts, she didn't want to wait several hours for the train to get to the castle. After all, if magic really was so great, why couldn't the train travel extremely quickly so they'd arrive in half an hour?

"Hey, is she ok?" Lee asked the twins while looking at Bianca.

"Who, Bea? She's fine," Fred said.

"If you don't mind me asking, why's she so… quiet?"

"Bea doesn't speak to anyone, we don't really know why but there're only six people in the world who've had a conversation with her," George said, "She talks to us, of course, but not really anyone else. Don't take it personally, though, she doesn't even speak to our younger siblings."

"She's your sister? Are you triplets?" Lee asked in awe.

"No, yes, no," Fred said, "It's complicated, "Technically, we aren't related, but we all think of her as family, and she's lived with us as long as we can remember."

"So she's not your sister, but she also is?" Lee asked slowly.

"Yeah," George said happily, "Glad we cleared that up. Care to sit down?"

The four sat together the whole journey to Hogwarts, sharing stories of their background and sharing rumours they'd heard about their new school. Charlie popped in once to check on his younger siblings about half-way through the journey.

"I see you've made a new friend," Charlie said, poking his head into the compartment, "are you all okay in here?"

Fred and George nodded happily and introduced Lee to Charlie. "Lovely to meet you, Lee, but you want to be careful making friends with these two, right little troublemakers." Charlie reached out and rustled George's hair while Lee grinned mischievously and muttered something about that being a good thing.

Charlie laughed, "Well, I'm not needed here. Bea, you ok?"

Bianca grinned and nodded and her brother flashed a thumbs up in return. "Good. Well, I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts."

"That's your brother?" Lee asked in awe.

"One of them, yeah," Fred confirmed proudly, "He's the second oldest, Bill had his last year at school last year."

"How- how many siblings do you have?"

"Three older brothers, but we wish there were only two," George started.

"Then there's us three, Ron and Ginny," Fred finished.

"You must have a huge house then," Lee said and the twins shared an awkward look.

Fred coughed and shuffled uncomfortably, "Well, not really. We don't have much money see, only our dad works so our house is quite cramped. That's why George and I have hand-me-downs."

"A-ha!" Lee cried, "So _you're_ Fred!"

The twins cursed and Bianca smirked but inside all three were beaming- Lee didn't care that they came from a poor family!

"Damn, you got me," George said, smirking.

A look of confusion flashed across Lee's face, "But I thought you were- you know what? I give up. From now on, you're both called Basil. Permanently."

The boys laughed and spent the rest of the journey happily talking together. Lee loved hearing all about the pranks that the twins had pulled over the years and was more than happy to suggest his own idea. Needless to say that by the end of the journey, the boys had come up with various ideas for causing havoc at Hogwarts and were itching to get off the train.

Bianca, however, still had her doubts about starting the school. She'd planned to discuss everything with Fred and George on the train but that plan had been scuppered by the arrival of Lee Jordan. While Bea had listened intently to everything the boys had been saying and planning for the year ahead and had to agree that their prank ideas were very good, she couldn't help but feel a little sad. Back at the Burrow, Bianca had always been the one to help come up with and develop their jokes so they would work out well and no one would get hurt but with the boys' new friend, she wouldn't be able to do so. Admittedly, she'd spotted a few flaws in their ideas, but she'd have to wait to talk to one of the boys privately.

It wasn't that she didn't want to talk to Lee, but Bianca had always struggled with trust. It's natural when your own parents abandon you and you grow up not knowing who you are. Bea had learned from experience that if she tried to open her mouth and speak to someone she didn't know well enough, no words would come out. Something inside her stopped her from talking. Bianca had tried so hard to talk to Ginny at home but the girls just hadn't spent enough time together. Bea had grown up as Fred and George's unrelated triplet and trusted the twins more than anyone. Charlie and Bill had always been easy to talk to as well; they were so protective and kind to her. And before Bianca was old enough to fully understand what had happened to her as a baby, she'd thoroughly believed Mr and Mrs Weasley were her parents and even now that she knew the truth, Bianca doubted there'd ever be a day when she considered them anything different.

When the train pulled to a gradual halt, Bianca took a deep breath, straightened out her robes and looked up at Fred and George. The three shared an excited grin and pulled open the compartment door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Bianca gripped George's hand as they stepped onto the Hogsmeade station platform. Students were flooding out of the train and swarming the small area. Bea caught a small glimpse of Charlie who smiled reassuringly and winked at her making her feel more comfortable immediately.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" Bianca looked around to find the source of the booming voice. A huge man was standing at the edge of the station waving one arm in the air and holding a lantern in the other.

"That'll be Hagrid," Fred said, "Charlie told us about him, he's the groundskeeper!"

"Let's go then, or they'll leave without us!" George said, dragging his brother and Bianca towards Hagrid.

They gathered with the other first years before being led away from the older students. The children walked for a while before reaching a lake which had a small collection of boats floating on the surface.

"In yeh hop," Hagrid said loudly, "No more than four to a boat if yeh please."

Bianca carefully clambered into the nearest boat with Fred, George and Lee, the boy from the train. Once everyone had found a seat, the boats began to move forward.

"Awesome," Fred and George said.

The night air was freezing so the four huddled together to try and keep themselves warm. Just as Hagrid announced they'd soon be able to see the castle, a long tentacle rose from under the water and began splashing about in the lake. A few people screamed, but a grins spread across four particular mischievous faces. Hagrid quickly told them that it was only the Giant squid and that they had nothing to worry about. As the boats slowly passed the tentacle, Fred and George reached up and high-fived the squid. Bianca smirked as the boys removed their hands to find their fingers covered in sticky slime and promptly tried to rub it on each other's faces. They only stopped when George nearly ended up toppling into the lake. The twins quickly dipped their hands into the water to remove any left-over slime that wasn't plastering their faces and used their sleeves to wipe the rest off.

Then, the boats rounded a corner and an awed silence spread throughout the students. The castle was beautiful. Classroom lights glimmered in the darkness and a few tall towers reached high into the sky. No one seemed to be able to find adequate words to describe the school's beauty and detail. Bianca, Fred and George understood now why their older brothers had found it so difficult to explain what the castle looked like. With every glance, you could spot something new, something more amazing.

After what seemed like an eternity of staring up at the castle as it gradually loomed closer, the boats finally pulled to atop inside a small cove. Fred and George eagerly leapt up and out of the oat, onto solid group and Bianca followed them quickly. As Lee stood, however, the boat wobbled vigorously and Lee made an epic jump to avoid falling into the icy water. He stumbled slightly as he landed but sighed in relief when he turned to see his thankfully empty boat flip over. Even Bianca couldn't resist giggling slightly at Lee's shocked expression as the group turned to see a stern looking woman standing before them.

"Thank you, Hagrid, I shall take them from here," the woman said sharply, "Follow me."

The first years tripped over themselves as they set off after the woman who was walking at an unnaturally fast pace. She led them through a small part of the castle but the new students didn't have time to admire it as the witch had continued into a small room and was ushering the children in behind her.

"Quickly now!" she instructed, "I am Professor McGonagall, deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor house. In a few moments, I will take you through to the Great Hall so you may be sorted into your houses in front of the school, so I suggest you smarten yourselves up," she glanced at Lee whose shirt was untucked and whose collar was slightly wonky, "While you are here at Hogwarts, your house will be your family. Therefore you are expected to treat your housemates so, disrespect will not be tolerated. Any messing about or misbehaving will lose you points, any achievements will earn you them. Understood?" The group nodded silently. "Excellent, now wait here, I shall collect you momentarily."

With that, Professor McGonagall disappeared through the large doors behind her. The packed room burst into mutters; rumours of how they would be sorted flew through the air and students rushed to straighten their uniform and look presentable.

As promised, Professor McGonagall returned to the room and signalled for the first years to follow her. She led them into the Great Hall, where all the other students sat at their respective house tables. Floating candles hovered above them giving the stone-walled room a cosy and homely feel. The group stumbled towards the far end of the Great Hall where all the staff sat. In front of the table stood a stool, on which was a ragged hat. Once the procession had stopped in front of it, the hat burst into song.

Admittedly, Bianca was too shocked at the idea of a singing hat to register what it was saying, but she looked around the room, taking in the lack of roof above the hall and catching Charlie's eye. She also caught sight of Percy but he looked away quickly. By the time Bea had turned back to face the hat, it had concluded its song and the entire room erupted in applause. The first years joined in awkwardly, looking amongst themselves as if trying to find an explanation for what had just happened.

Professor McGonagall once again stood in front of the first years and unrolled a long scroll, "When I call your name you will come and sit on the stool to allow the Sorting Hat to place you in your house," she paused as she read the first name and then announced, "Bianca."

Bea's insides screamed- she had to go first? Fred and George looked at her encouragingly and patted her on the back in comfort. Careful so as not to trip on her way, Bianca gulped and pushed her way to the front of the hall, looking down to avoid the hundreds of eyes which were inevitably following her path. Bea sat on the stool, choosing to ignore the peculiar look Professor McGonagall was giving her as the hat was placed on her head.

"Hmm," a voice spoke in her mind, causing her to jump slightly, "kind and loyal, good Hufflepuff factors, but a prankster, I see, perhaps Slytherin?" Bianca cringed slightly, "No? Not Slytherin. Well, you're certainly brave, always sticking up for what you think is right. It's got to be GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat announced her house aloud to the hall. Bianca sighed in relief, removed the hat and made her way down to Gryffindor's table to sit with Charlie who had purposefully placed himself near the empty end of the table to welcome his new housemates. Charlie stood up to hug Bea as she joined him and even Percy smiled and nodded at her proudly.

It was only when Professor McGonagall announced the next name that Bianca realised why she'd received so many strange looks- she didn't have a surname. Person after person was called up to be sorted and each of them had a surname! Bianca had been in the castle all of fifteen minutes and already she was the odd one out. She looked across the table at Charlie, who said amongst the applause, "They'll have forgotten already."

Gradually, the house tables filled up until only two people remained to be sorted: Fred and George.

"Weasley Fred," Professor McGonagall called and George began to make his way towards the stool. Charlie and Bea smirked, Percy scowled at his brothers. Somehow, the twins got away with it, and George was sorted under Fred's name.

After a few minutes consideration, the Sorting hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Bianca clapped enthusiastically as George joined her at the table.

"Weasley George," Professor McGonagall said, rolling up the scroll.

George stood up again and walked back towards the hat.

"But you-" McGonagall started.

"Sorry, I got mixed up," George said, "I'm George, that's Fred over there." Fred waved.

Professor McGonagall looked utterly at a loss and she turned to face a man whom Bianca assumed was Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts. His eyes twinkled in amusement behind his half-moon spectacles and he stood and announced, "Perhaps, Mr Weasley, you could let your brother be sorted? I consider it foolish to have you sorted twice."

"Of course, sir," George said with a bow. He stepped aside to let Fred take a seat under the hat and waited next to his brother. It wasn't long before Fred too was put into Gryffindor and the twins skipped, arm in arm, down towards the table.

The rest of the school didn't seem to know what to do. Charlie, Bianca and Lee were in silent fits of hysterics. Percy was shaking his head in despair. A few of the older students and most of the staff were sighing as they thought about what they'd be putting up with for several years. Dumbledore was smiling behind his long beard and Hagrid looked half-amused, half-confused. Some of the younger pupils were laughing and others just looked disgusted, but the boys didn't care. They enjoyed the calls of congratulations that they received from those people who did have a sense of humour.

Professor Dumbledore got to his feet and silence fell immediately, "Welcome, and welcome back! As I'm sure most of you know and the rest will discover, I am not one for long speeches when one has an empty stomach. Therefore I say one word to you all. Enjoy!"

Bianca looked around the hall in confusion to see that everyone else was looking down expectantly at the table. Fred glanced at her and shrugged just as excited mumbles filled the room. The tables which had previously been empty, save for the crockery and cutlery, were now filled with all different types of delicious smelling food.

About halfway through their meal, the happy buzz that filled the hall was interrupted by a few shrieks of surprise when a large group of transparent people floated through the walls.

"Ghosts!" Someone shouted as though this wasn't quite clear.

Said ghosts distributed themselves around the room, some coming down to sit at house tables, other remaining up on the ceiling, pointing at students and laughing.

"Don't worry," Charlie said, "These guys are fine, it's Peeves you want to avoid."

Bea, Fred and George shared a cheeky smirk. Charlie and Bill had told them many stories about the Hogwarts poltergeist, Peeves and they couldn't wait to come across him. Fred and George had plans to start a prank war with him but Bea had convinced them that that wasn't their best idea seeing as Peeves could fly and become invisible. The twins had taken offence at thing, claiming that they were the masters of pranking and wouldn't be beaten by 'a dead guy'. Bianca decided not to remind them what the difference between a poltergeist and a ghost was and told the boys that she looked forward to seeing them get beaten.

The first years were all gazing in curiosity down the table where one particular ghost was talking to a group of fifth years. When the ghost saw the intrigued students he left the other conversation and floated down towards them.

"Welcome to Gryffindor!" he announced loudly, "Certainly the best house, if I do say so myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy Porpington, but you may call me Sir Nick. I am the ghost of Gryffindor house."

"You're Nearly Headless Nick?" one of the pureblood first years asked. Their tone of voice implied they didn't mean to offend, but Sir Nick drew away from the table slightly.

"Alas," he said, "I was convinced this year I'd be able to escape it," he floated away, mumbling to himself.

"Is that the guy who can flip his head off?" George asked Charlie.

Charlie laughed, "Yeah, that's him. He was beheaded with a blunt sword or something so his head didn't come off all the way."

For the rest of the evening, the hall was full with a content atmosphere. Dessert was even better than the main course. Each platter was stacked high with every type of pudding imaginable.

When the noise was starting to rise again and everyone was full and sleepy, Professor Dumbledore stood once again.

"Now that we have all finished our glorious meals, I would like, as usual, to give you all a few reminders. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest at the bottom of the grounds is, as suggested, forbidden to all students. Quidditch trials will be held soon to put together teams for the cup. To anyone in second year or above who is interested in joining their team, please speak to your house Quidditch captain for details."

Charlie smiled proudly at this. He had been given the title of Quidditch Captain that year and had gladly swapped his prefect badge for his new shiny one.

"As usual houses will be competing for house points in the house cup, I suggest you all try hard to earn your house points. But for now, I think you are all in need of a good night's sleep. Prefects, please take your houses up to your common rooms, first years, try not to get lost. Off you pop!"

Bianca enjoyed the walk up to the Gryffindor common room. The castle held so many surprises that Bill hadn't Charlie hadn't mentioned. The paintings which were mounted on the walls all greeted everyone that passed and Fred was taken by surprise when he started a conversation with a painting just to turn and find that his fellow Gryffindors were all on a staircase which was moving away without him on it. George and Bianca found this utterly hilarious and watched as Fred was finally found by Charlie who had been walking a little way behind with his mates. The rest of the first years, however, had moved on and were heading up the staircase which had lodged itself onto a corridor.

"Watch this step," one of the Prefects shouted, "unless you want to find your foot stuck in it."

George and Bianca tactfully avoided the step and gathered with the other Gryffindors before a particularly large painting of a fat woman.

"This is the entrance to our common room," a prefect said, "The password is _leo magna._ "

When the prefect spoke those words, the painting swung open to reveal a small passage. The prefects climbed in first, quickly followed by the first years, all of whom were very eager to see their common room. Bianca hopped through with George to find herself in a large, red, cosy room. A blazing crackled in welcome in one corner and squishy armchairs filled to room.

"You'll find all your dormitories up the stairs, the doors are labelled. Don't forget lessons start tomorrow so don't be late for breakfast. I don't think any of us want points lost on the first day back, we'd all like to beat Slytherin this year. Anyway, big day tomorrow, I suggest you all head upstairs."

Bianca however, didn't want to go anywhere. While she'd known for a while, it had only just dawned on her that she'd be sleeping in a different room to the twins. Back at the Burrow, Bianca had her bed in the far corner of Fred and George's room and the twins had their two on the other side, under the window. Every night, the three of them would talk in hushed voices until one of them fell asleep, but now, Bianca would have to learn to sleep with an entirely new group of people.

She looked at George and tried to convey all of this in a look, and he seemed to understand, making a beeline for two of the first year girls who were huddled together, getting to know each other.

"Evening, ladies," George said, "I'm George, the more handsome of the Weasley twins." The girls both giggled as George continued, "This is Bianca, or Bea. She doesn't speak and is worried about getting to know people. Would you be so kind as to look after her for me?"

"Of course!" One girl answered immediately, "I'm Angelina, and this is Alicia. It's lovely to meet you."

Bianca smiled and hugged George appreciatively.

"Is she your sister?" Alicia asked curiously.

"No," George replied, "It's a long story which I will explain at a later date, but Bea and I aren't related, but she grew up with me and my family. Anyway, I'll be off. See you at breakfast, Bea. G'night girls."

"Come on," Angelina said kindly, "Let's go up to bed."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bianca was itching to talk to someone. When she joined Fred and George in the common room the next morning, it had been nearly a day since she last spoke to them on the train. They all assumed things would get easier once Bianca got to know everyone a bit better, but currently, conversation was more than difficult.

The three had got up quite early so as they navigated themselves carefully through the castle there weren't many people around. When they found themselves on an empty corridor, Bianca sighed loudly.

"This is killing me!" she exclaimed.

"Come on," George said, "You've only been here a day!"

"Yeah," Fred said, "You'll get used to everyone. It might take a while but you'll get there."

"I haven't talked to either of you since we got here," Bianca sulked.

"Incorrect," Fred said, "I distinctly remember you saying 'this is killing me' not fifteen seconds ago."

"I missed not talking to you both last night."

"I wish we could say the same," Fred said, "It was nicely quiet without you nattering on in the background."

"Shut up."

"Says the queen of shutting up," Fred said sarcastically.

"Hey," George said, "We've got another hour and a bit before lessons, want to do a little prank?"

Fred grinned, "It would be a shame to waste a perfectly good hour. Let's show these teachers what they're up against."

After quickly grabbing a slice of toast and collecting their timetables from the Great Hall, the three made their way back to the common room talking excitedly all the way. They thought it was quite the achievement that they only got lost three times on their small journey.

"So," Fred said, "We have just under an hour before our first lesson which is Transfiguration. I don't think that's too far away."

"Great," George said, "That's plenty of time."

They were huddled in a corner in the common room, far away from everyone else brainstorming ideas.

"Don't get caught," Bianca said quietly, "Not on your first day. Do something that can be set off far away from where you are."

"But we want to be able to see reactions," Fred said thoughtfully, "When do you think Charlie will notice he's wearing his old Prefect badge and his Quidditch Captain one is glued to the Fat Lady?"

Bianca burst out laughing, "You put Charlie's Quidditch badge on the painting? When?"

"Fred did it last night when Charlie walked him back to the common room. We nicked some of that Muggle stuff dad swears by- SuperGlue- and I used it."

"When did you switch the badges?"

"At dinner," George said, "I took his when I first came to the table and slipped it to Fred when we skipped back to the table."

"Then I told him it'd fallen off when we were on our way here last night. He was so distracted by his mates, he didn't notice I'd given him the wrong one."

"That was clever!" Bea said, "Charlie won't _snitch,_ either."

"I hope not," George agreed, smirking, "He's usually a good _sport_."

"He'll be _seeking_ for it for days when he notices it's gone," Fred said, catching on.

The three fell into fits of laughter at their own puns.

It was, in fact, three whole days before Charlie realised what the twins had done. Fred, George and Bianca were sitting in the common room with Lee, complaining that they'd been given homework already when Charlie came over to them.

"Ok, where is it?" he asked.

"Where's what?" George replied.

"I don't know what you mean," said Fred innocently.

"You know exactly what I mean," Charlie said with a chuckle, "Where's my badge?"

"It's in your hand," George sighed, "You're showing it to us."

"Not this one! My Quidditch Captain badge!"

"Charlie," Fred said, standing up and putting an arm around his brother's shoulders, "That clearly says 'Quidditch Captain'. Are you feeling alright, or do you need to borrow Percy's glasses."

"Don't be a prat, that says Prefect," Charlie replied, removing his brother's arm from his back, "I have to admit, it was smart, but where is it?"

Fred and George shared a bewildered glance, "Charlie, you surely can't blame _us_ for you putting on the wrong badge!"

"Drop it, guys, I have try-outs next week, I need it."

"You probably left it at home!" George said, "Picked up the wrong one by mistake."

"Bianca will tell me where it is, won't you, Bea?"

"Bea, don't be a traitor," Fred said.

"How about this Charlie," George said, "I'll tell you that it's somewhere that you walk past at least every day."

The twins had checked the badge was still there every time they passed the portrait. They'd hidden it quite well so it was camouflaged against the paint, it was quite difficult for them to see themselves, and they knew where it was!

"Come on, Charlie, you're meant to be a seeker! Use those eagle eyes of yours."

"You're all idiots! And here was me thinking I was your favourite."

"Fat chance," Fred said, "Our only favourites are each other."

"Cute," Charlie mocked, "Now go get my badge or I'll set Percy on you."

"Ooh, I'm really scared now."

"You walked through where it is to get here."

Charlie scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as his brother continued, "Now if you'll excuse us, we have a foot and a half of charms homework to do."

"Pah, you, doing homework, good one."

"Hey! I'll have you know we're trying hard in lessons."

"Yeah," George backed his brother up, "We won't start the mayhem for at least another week."

"And besides, we're pranksters and jokers, not rebels. We need our education if we're going to get anywhere in life."

"Exactly, we might just make some lessons a little bit more interesting, that's all."

"I can't believe what I'm hearing!"

"Shut up, Charlie, you know us."

"Exactly, that's the problem."

"Of course, there are some lessons, we care less about," George said thoughtfully.

"History of Magic," Fred supplied.

"No, I like that one," Lee spoke up, "It's a good time for a nap."

"How about Astronomy, then?"

"Pointless," Lee agreed.

"Flying lessons are a bore too. We've been flying for years!"

"What about Herbology?" Charlie asked.

"Haven't had it yet," George answered, "First thing tomorrow."

"Right, well, seeing as you lot are about as helpful as a tea-cosy, I'm going to find my badge. See you later."

George looked after his brother squinting slightly, "I think tea-cosies are very helpful- no one likes cold tea."

"But we have magic, Georgie, there are spells to keep tea warm and heat it up."

The four spent the rest of the evening huddled in front of the fire and doing their homework and watching Charlie scouring the common room for his badge. It was the twins' strong belief that if you did your homework (only the ones you cared about, of course) straight away, you'd have more time for pranking later. Because while Fred and George were excellent jokers, they were also very clever, talented wizards and understood if they wanted to do well, as they did, they needed their education. With not even a week behind them, the boys already excelled in Charms, Transfiguration and, though not to the pleasure of Professor Snape, Potions. They'd completed all tasks in lessons to extremely high standards, and in Potions, no matter how hard he tried, Snape couldn't find even the slightest fault. Fred and George had produced a perfect potion in half the time it took everyone else. Professor Snape hadn't hesitated to tell them off for rushing into their work and taking off house points for carelessness, despite the twins' faultless potion. Snape had reminded them that it was possibly the easiest method in the world and stalked away. Fred and George decided that they didn't like Professor Snape.

Professor McGonagall found it amazing that they could mess around and not pay attention all lesson, yet still know the answer to every question she asked before they were dismissed and Professor Flitwick seemed to have taken a particular liking to the boys when they had successfully made his chalk float up and write 'Fred and George' on the blackboard on only their second attempt. Granted, they were meant to be levitating feathers, but it was impressive all the same.

The weeks at school whizzed by. Fred, George and Bianca, occasionally with the help of Lee, caused havoc in the corridors, but, with just over a week before the Christmas holidays, they still hadn't been caught. The teachers all knew who was causing the mayhem but with no proof, so couldn't give them detention. After three or four weeks, Bianca found herself being able to talk to Lee Angelina and Alicia, as well, and they all seemed overjoyed that she did so. She was still quiet and reserved around them, but wasn't so afraid to input to conversations. Fred, George, Bea and Lee were heading down to the Quidditch pitch to watch Charlie play in the first match of the year against Ravenclaw. He'd found his badge a few days after he confronted the twins and hadn't taken it off his jumper since.

They huddled in the stands to protect themselves against the light rain which was falling and watched as the teams filed out onto the pitch. Charlie shook hand with the Ravenclaw captain and the teams mounted their brooms.

It wasn't a particularly long game; both teams were eager to get back inside against the cold. Near the beginning of the match, a bludger hit the Gryffindor keeper, Oliver Wood, when their beaters hadn't got to him in time, meaning the hoops were left undefended. In the end, the teams drew level when Charlie caught the snitch, for Gryffindor. He'd seen that Ravenclaw were leading massively due to Gryffindor's lack of keeper, so decided to end the game quickly, before they were thrashed. He'd zoomed around the field, chasing after the snitch and had caught it not even thirty seconds after Ravenclaw scored the point that meant the game ended in a draw.

When the game ended, the Gryffindor team vanished to get changed and to go and check on their keeper who had been taken to the hospital wing with a few broken ribs. Lee also ran off to go and talk to some of the boys that he and the twins shared a room with, leaving Fred, George and Bianca to wander aimlessly around the school for a while. While the three had got the general gist of navigating the school, the castle was huge, and they'd made it their aim to learn as many as the castle's secrets as they could. So far, they'd found a handy passage which led from a corridor beside the Great Hall up to the common room, a classroom which seemed to have an infestation of angry looking imps and a corridor which led back to the start if the same corridor when you walked along it.

Just as they were walking past one portrait of a man who was mid-fight with a troll and were happily discussing the match, Bianca spotted a small crack in the wall behind a suit of armour. She carefully slid her hand into the crack and felt her fingers brush up against some sort of lever. Bea quickly retracted her hand and watched in amazement as the bricks slid back to reveal a small, empty room. Fred and George followed her as she stepped into the room, lighting her wand so she could see better. The space was about the same size as their bedroom at the Burrow, so it was quite compacted but George whistled in appreciation, "This could come in handy," he said, "No one would find us in here."

The three spent a few minutes inspecting every nook and crevice around them, just to be sure there weren't any secrets that they were missing. When they were satisfied that it was just a room, they headed back towards the exit. Bianca flicked the stone switch again and the wall once again collapsed in to reveal a corridor.

"Hang on," said Fred, "This isn't where we were before."

"This is on the other side of the school!" Bianca exclaimed.

"But we didn't go anywhere," said George, "That's awesome."

Just to be sure they weren't imagining anything, Bianca, George and Fred spent the next ten minutes or so entering the room, closing the door, reopening it to find that they'd switch between the two corridors over and over.

"Wicked," Fred said, "That could save some time and energy getting from Defence Against the Dark Arts to Transfiguration."

"Fred, this room can do more than that! We could have alibis on the other side of the school for every prank we do!" George said excitedly.

"Pranks, eh? So it is you three that have been causing mischief across the school?"

Bianca felt like her heart had dropped to her feet. She turned around to find herself face to face with the school caretaker, Mr Filch who was grinning in delight. Frankly, Bea wished he'd kept his mouth closed because smiling wasn't a good look for him.

"Oh we've been trying to catch you for so long, haven't we, Mrs Norris?" Filch sneered, looking down at his cat who was crawling around by his feet.

Bianca had to hold back fits of giggles- who named a cat Mrs Norris? By some miracle, she managed to keep a straight face as George quickly said, "You think we've been the ones 'causing mischief'? Look at us, we're only innocent first years, we still get lost going from lesson to lesson!"

Filch glared at them suspiciously, "What were you talking about them?"

"Oh, you thought we said prank?" Fred laughed, "We actually said 'shrank'! We were simply telling our lovely friend here how our grandmother shrank a foot over the summer when she put some powdered newt tails in her tea instead of sugar."

"What were you saying about alibis?" Filch demanded.

George laughed, "Again, you simply misheard. Really, we said 'apply' because grandma, bless her, has been applying all sorts of creams all over her body to try and get her height back."

"Well, either way, you should be in your common rooms. What are you doing wandering around the school at this time?"

"Well, the common room is a bit stuffy, see. Lots of people, very crowded indeed, we thought it would be nice to take a walk."

"Well it's nearly time you have to be back, so why don't you start making your way there? Quite a long way, isn't it?"

"Of course, sir," Fred and George bowed, "We'll just be on our way."

The three began to speed away, but they could hear Filch's footsteps following them the entire way.

"He's going to get us for being out after curfew," Fred whispered as they walked, "He wants us to get in trouble but can't prove the pranks were us."

Sure enough, when a clock struck nine o clock in the distance, a hoarse voice called them to stop. George rolled his eyes and turned, "Can we help you, sir?" he asked politely.

"You're out of bed after curfew. That's against the school rules, that is."

"Yes, but as you are fully aware, we are headed to the common room right now."

"Prove it," Filch smirked, he knew they couldn't get themselves out of this one, "Follow me, please."

They didn't have a choice, so they trudged back through the school after the caretaker, not really knowing what _he_ was going to do about it. Eventually, they arrived at a small office that looked suspiciously like it had been converted from a broom cupboard.

"Now," Filch sneered, "I'll warn you now, students who misbehave are expelled and I know it's you three running about the school and mucking about, making more mess for me to clean up! You dropped that dungbomb outside my office this morning!"

"Prove it," Fred said confidently, but Filch never got the chance to, as the next second, a colourful blob had soared into the room and was shouting, "Students out of bed! Knocking over suits of armour on the third floor! It's terrible Filchy, you want to go and give them a good thrashing!"

Filch grumbled, told the three students that they could go and hurried out the room.

"Quick Filchy, they're getting away, the rascals!" the floating, human blob turned his back on Filch and smirked, "Ooohh, ickle naughty firsties, what have you three been up to?"

No one replied but the blob didn't care as he continued, "Did you know, some genius has been pulling pranks all over the school? They're nearly up to my standard, I must admit, just the other day they made a bucket full of bowtruckles topple onto Snively Snape's head! He still can't get some of them off!" the thing rolled about laughing in mid-air, "I'm dying to know who's behind it."

George smirked and glanced at his brother, finally figuring out who was hovering before them, "Actually, that was us," he said.

"No, ickle firsties pulling pranks like that? I don't believe it."

"It was," Fred said, feeling rather affronted, "We did all of it."

"The invisible smile in front of the Slytherin common room too?"

"All of it," Fred growled.

"Well then, my masters, I bow down to you. I am Peeves, the school's best and only poltergeist."

"Pleasure," George said, "Now if you'll excuse us, we have a common room to get back to."

"Hang on a second, Georgie," Fred said, pointing at one of the many drawers in the room, "Look at this! It says 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'."

"Have a look then," said George excitedly while his twin opened the drawer and removed a piece of parchment. "What is it?" George asked.

Fred unfolded the paper and looked at it, "It's blank." He sounded disappointed.

"Oh you'll want to take that with you," Peeves suggested wisely, "I'd have it myself but I don't need it anymore."

"But what is it?" George asked.

"I guess you'll have to figure it out."

And Peeves was gone.

A/N: Sorry if it feels like things are moving quite slowly, not much exciting ill happen until their third year when arr arrives at Hogwarts. I'm skipping through with background information so we can get to exciting stuff quicker! Hope you're enjoying it! :D


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Fred, George and Bianca were huddled in their room at the Burrow, staring down at the blank parchment.

"I don't get it," Fred said.

"It doesn't do anything," Agreed George.

"It was probably just Peeves winding us up," Bianca suggested, "It's the kind of thing he'd do."

"But then why was it in the drawer labelled 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous' if it doesn't do anything?"

For hours, the three of them had been sat on George's bed, poking the paper and folding it into the shape of animals. When they'd been at school, they'd tried every spell they knew to try and activate it but they'd been annoyingly unsuccessful. It was Little Christmas Eve and, after claiming they were going to wrap presents, Fred, George and Banca had run upstairs and got out the paper.

"Maybe it's voice-activated," Bianca suggested, "It doesn't belong to us, so it won't open."

"That's stupid," George sighed, "And then why would Peeves want it if it wouldn't work for him?"

"So something has to trigger it! It needs a password." Fred concluded.

"But what?"

The three spent the next hour shouting random things at the parchment but to no avail. They tried everything from 'dancing fruit bowl' to 'owl in space' but nothing worked. Eventually, they gave up and started wrapping presents, occasionally, shouting something across the room in the general direction of George's bed.

As usual, they had bought joint presents for all their family because that way, they could pool what little money they had together and get everyone better presents. And, as they did every year, they avoided giving each other presents. They all agreed that there wasn't a point in getting each other presents so sat together wrapping everyone else's. Bianca was looking down at the gift she was wrapping for her mum which was a self-filling mug which they'd charmed so it read; 'Warning! We are Up to No Good."

"You do realise that this means she'll be on guard for jokes on Christmas day, right?"

"And that, my dear Bianca, is why we have planned all our jokes for Boxing day," Fred said with a wink.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head," George said, "We promise we're planning something naughty."

"Please phrase that differently," Bianca said, cringing at George's choice of words.

"We solemnly swear that we're up to no good," lagged George, quoting the half wrapped mug on the floor.

Suddenly Fred, who had stood up to retrieve Bill's present from its hiding spot, gasped and pointed at George's bed covers, "Look!"

"What?" George scrambled to his feet and his gaze followed Fred's finger down to the parchment which lay on the bed. But it wasn't blank anymore. Ink was seeping onto the page to form words.

Fred moved his wand away from where it had been resting on the paper and picked up the parchment to read aloud what was written.

"Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs are proud to present the Marauder's Map."

Fred and George returned to their spots on the floor next to Bea and Fred carefully began to unfold the map out in front of them.

"It's of Hogwarts!" George exclaimed, "Look there's the common room, there's the Great Hall, look it even has the passage we found the other day between the two!"

Fred was grinning down at the map, "It has everything on it! This is amazing!"

"Hang on," Bianca said, "There are names on it. Moving names!"

"There's Lee's," said Fred, "He stayed at school over Christmas, didn't he?"

"Yeah," said Bea, "He's with Angelina and Alicia in the common room. This is so cool, you can see where everyone is all the time!"

A few hours later, when they'd finished looking through the map and wrapped all their Christmas presents, they faced a problem.

"How do we close it?" George asked, looking at the map.

"Maybe we have to say the opposite of what we did to open it?" suggested Fred.

"What, like We Solemnly Swear We Have Been Up to no Good?"

"No, something to say we're finished using it."

Once again, they started shouting random words at the paper, hoping something would trigger its shut down. Eventually, the ink started to move again and a few words appeared along the bottom- 'I think the words you're looking for are 'Mischief Managed'! Happy Pranking!'

Bianca carefully hid the map in the loose floorboard under her bed and they all gathered the presents to take them downstairs and place them under the tree.

Bianca awoke on Christmas morning to find two very excitable, red-headed twins bouncing on her bed.

"Get up, Bea! It's Christmas!"

"It's early," Bea retorted.

"But it's Christmas, come on!" Fred grabbed her arm and yanked her out of bed, dragging her down the stairs and into the living room where the rest of the family had gathered. As they came in, Mrs Weasley handed them each a steaming mug of hot chocolate and ushered them to sit down with everyone else. As tradition, the first parcel everyone opened was their jumper and within minutes, everyone was snuggled up if the warm wool. Bianca got up to hug Mrs Weasley seeing as she couldn't thank her with words before handing her one of the presents that Bea and the twins had got her- a gold necklace with a charm that changed between reading 'Mum' and showing a love heart. It had been Bianca's idea as something to counteract the silliness of the mug and Mrs Weasley loved it. She put it on straight away and wrapped Bianca in a hug.

Half an hour later, the living room carpet was covered in wrapping paper and the space under the tree was empty. Mrs Weasley vanished into the kitchen to start on Christmas dinner, which she always cooked by hand, with minimum amounts of magic. Bianca got up to follow and offer help, so Mrs Weasley set her to work on peeling vegetables. In the privacy of the kitchen, Bianca began to tell her mother all about Hogwarts and what she and the twins had been up to in their first term.

Mrs Weasley listened happily. She enjoyed hearing Bianca talk as it happened so little and, although it was hours in reality, in what felt like just a few minutes, they were dishing up the dinner onto everyone's plates.

Once everyone had settled and were happily tucking into their meals, Bill cleared his throat.

"I have something I'd like to tell you all," he began, "I wanted everyone to find out together, and didn't feel it would be right to say in a letter, so I thought I'd wait until everyone was home before I said anything.

"I've got a job with Gringotts. I'm going to work as a curse breaker in Egypt. You all know I've been looking into similar jobs for a while and when this one popped up, I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss. I'll have to move to Egypt permanently but I'll try and come home as often as I can, for Christmas and such like."

Mrs Weasley let out a small squeal and rushed around the table to hug her son, "Oh I'm so proud of you! When do you head off?"

"I'll be starting work a few weeks after Christmas but I want to get out there a few days earlier to get to know the area. The bank is organising a portkey for me to take and is providing residence in Egypt while I work for them there."

"Oh that's amazing! Bill, I'm so happy for you! Just think, my son, going to live in Egypt!"

Fred and George reached over to high-five their brother and congratulated him happily.

The rest of the meal was spent talking and laughing and, after Mrs Weasley's infamous Christmas pudding, the family made their way back to the living room. As they sat together in a content silence, Bianca realised how much she loved Christmas. It was the day of the year when everyone was happy- even Percy didn't grumble. She loved seeing everyone open their presents and her day improved when Fred suddenly called out, "It's snowing!"

Seven excited Weasleys rushed to the window, watching the white flakes fall in their thousands to the ground. Within minutes, there was a thick coating on the ground and George shouted, "Snowball fight!"

There was a scurry as everyone rushed to pull on their coats and boots, before heading out to the garden. Now, there's one thing everyone needs to know about the Weasley family: they take snowballs fights extremely seriously. It was more of a war than a fight. Every man was for himself and soon, forts had been built and battle had commenced. Bill cheated slightly and made copies of all his snowballs.

"Hey that's not fair!" Ron shouted, "You can't use mag-oof!" he stopped abruptly when a snowball made contact with his jaw.

"There aren't any rules," Bill protested, "It's not my fault you guys are too young!"

Bianca sent a well-aimed snowball at the back of Charlie's head when he left the safety of his fort to collect more snow.

And so the war continued until everyone had snow dripping down their clothes and there was no snow left. Flakes were still falling from the night sky but no one could be bothered to wait for enough to settle so they all headed back inside, arguing over who had won.

"My fort stood up the longest," George said.

"But you got hit tonnes of times!" Ron retorted.

"Who didn't?"

"I didn't," Ginny said smugly.

"Well what were you doing?" Charlie said in disbelief, "The whole point is to get hit, it's no fun otherwise."

"Well at least I won't get hypothermia," Ginny snapped.

"I think I won," Bill said as he unravelled his scarf and hung it up to dry.

"You cheated," said Fred.

"Did not, I used logic."

"Cheat," everyone else said in unison.

"I think I won," Percy said, "My snowballs were the most spherical out of everyone's."

"Yeah but Perce, how many actually hit their targets?" George said as he tugged his boots off.

Still bickering, the siblings made their way back to the living room, shivering slightly as cold from outside replaced the adrenaline. Mrs Weasley quickly dried everyone off with a quick spell and told everyone to huddle around the fire. It was quite late in the evening, the sun had set hours ago.

Slowly, everyone moved away from the fire and huddled with each other on the sofas. Mrs Weasley got some blankets from a cupboard in the corner and handed them out to everyone. Bianca sat in between Fred and George. George wrapped one arm around her waist as she rested her head gently on Fred's chest. For another couple of hours, everyone talked and laughed together until weariness took over. Mr and Mrs Weasley retired to bed, and Percy followed soon after, but everyone else stayed put, too comfortable and tired to find the energy to move. Ginny cuddled up to Bill and closed her eyes. A few minutes later when she was fast asleep, Bill gently lay her down across the sofa so that her head rested on his lap, and covered her with a blanket. Soon, his head fell back against the sofa cushion and he too was lightly snoring.

Bianca snuggled in more to the twins. In the few hours they'd spent sitting together, they'd gradually huddled closer and closer together so their bodies were all tangled together. George was asleep with his head resting on the arm of the sofa and Bianca found her eyelids drooping. She once again rested her head on Fred's chest and fell asleep to the sound of his steady heartbeat.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The rest of the school year went by all too quickly. Not long after they all returned after Christmas, the twins got a letter from Bill saying that he had safely arrived in Egypt and would try and come home to visit at some point in the summer. It felt like only a few days before everyone was re-boarding the train to return home for the holidays. Fred, George and Bianca had used the map many a time to pull pranks or just to be generally nosy. It helped them out of quite a few awkward situations when they heard a teacher coming their way and soon the three of them knew the layout of the school like the back of their hand. They'd also decided to keep it a secret from Lee because Fred and George felt that Bianca always seemed out of place when their new best friend was around. The map was like their own little peace treaty.

They all passed their end of year exams with flying colours (literally as when Fred and George found out they sent beams of bright colours zooming around the room). Slytherin won the house cup, no doubt down to the all the points Snape had taken from Fred and George out of nothing but spite. Ravenclaw had won the Quidditch cup which Charlie was more than irritated about. He kept ranting about how if he'd caught the snitch just a minute earlier in their first match, Gryffindor would have been in the final instead and they might have had a chance.

Everyone clapped with some reluctance as Dumbledore announced the Slytherin had won once again. Charlie had informed them with a disgruntled expression that they'd won every year since he'd been at Hogwarts.

Nevertheless, when hundreds of students were filing out the castle the next morning to return to the train, Bianca couldn't help feeling like she'd only been there a few weeks at most. She and the twins had had the best year together, pranking and having fun. They'd ventured into the Forbidden Forest a few times. Sometimes it ended better than others, but usually at least one of them ended up in the Hospital Wing for some sort of tree-related incident. There was one time Fred got into a fight with a centaur accidentally when he'd asked the centaur for directions while he'd been busy star gazing. Needless to say that the centaur wasn't overly pleased with this interruption. Fred had been unconscious for nearly two weeks with a hoof-shaped lump on his forehead and several broken limbs.

That was the first of many times they'd been told not to go back to the forest. The second had been when Fred and Bianca had arrived supporting a pale looking George who had tripped over a tree root and snapped his leg. And the third was when the twins had carried Bianca to Madam Pomfrey after she'd been shot through the stomach by a centaur who was stampeding with his pack through the forest and who clearly didn't appreciate tourists. Fred was adamant that this was the same centaur who had attacked him. There were, of course, countless more warnings and trips to the infirmary not that this stopped any of them, naturally.

As the year had gone on, the twins had felt that it was their responsibility to the Marauders to add to the map. It hadn't taken them long to figure out how it had been enchanted, although they doubted they could perform such a spell themselves. Nevertheless, they'd felt it was their duty to keep the map updated for the next generation of troublemakers. Granted, there were very few things that they'd missed but the room which teleported you between the two corridors was one of the very few things absent. There was much debate between the three on how this should be drawn on. George said they should simply write in each room that it took you to the other, but Fred argued that that didn't make sense seeing as it was only one room. Bianca suggested that they draw one room where they had found it behind the suit of armour and then draw a star to show where you ended up. The twins shot this down quickly, saying they could just as easily have found the other entrance. In the end, they decided to mark where one door was and enchant it so that it vanished from where they had drawn it and reappeared at the other site.

Fred, George and Bianca sat in a carriage on the train with Lee, Alicia and Angelina. Bianca was relatively quiet most of the journey, but after a year, she'd learnt to trust the others enough to input every now and then. They spent most of the journey talking about all their plans for the summer. Lee, Angelina and Alicia were going to spend their holidays somewhere warm and exotic with their families which made Bianca think about how strange it would be at the Burrow without Bill there.

She knew for a fact that she, Fred and George would spend most of the summer practising Quidditch. The boys desperately wanted to join the team the next year and be the Gryffindor beaters. Bea had to admit the twins were definitely better than the beaters from that year, despite them being seventh years. She also knew that every position except keeper and seeker was now free as the other five Gryffindor players had been seventh years. Bianca quite fancied being one of the chasers but was nowhere near as bothered as Fred and George who were desperate to make the team.

The friends all exchanged details so that they could write and keep in touch over the six or so weeks and as the train pulled to a halt in London, they all stood together in a huge group hug before grabbing their luggage and waving goodbye to each other. Bianca and the twins followed Percy and Charlie over to where Mrs Weasley stood with Ron and Ginny. As soon as they saw their older siblings, Ron and Ginny ran forward to wrap everyone in huge hugs- well, everyone except Percy who got a somewhat awkward, almost formal hug. Bianca didn't know hugs could be formal, but it was the sort of embrace someone made when they were making up for a particularly bad falling out.

A few hours later, Fred, George and Bianca had curled up on the sofa at home. Their first year at school had finally caught up to them and they were all exhausted. Mrs Weasley had given them all dinner as soon as they came in and Percy had gone straight up to his room afterwards. Charlie was outside with Ron and Ginny while Mrs Weasley cleared away the dishes. This left the other three to sit together, plotting pranks and thinking up jokes for the holidays and their next year at school. They chatted and laughed together for hours until Charlie came in to join them and Ron and Ginny trudged upstairs to bed.

"So?" Charlie asked.

"So what?" Fred asked with a yawn.

"So what did you think of your first year at school?" Charlie sighed.

"I hated it," George said sarcastically.

"Absolutely dreadful," agreed Fred.

"Not enough people smile and laugh," Bianca said.

"Well isn't it a good thing you three rays of sunshine are there," Charlie said, "Maybe you can snuff out the depression that is Professor Severus Snape."

Fred looked up at his brother, "Severus?" he asked with a snort, "That's his name?"

Charlie laughed, "Yup. Poor guy, maybe that's why he's always so depressed."

George could have laughed for hours if he wasn't so utterly worn out, so instead, he settled for simply saying, "Sounds like a breed of magical creature."

"The gloomy creature Severus hides alone in its cave which it likes to call a dungeon, spending all day cooking up potions which it likes to feed on," Fred joked as though it was a written report about a rare species.

"Very few know how it manages to survive, as the Severus seems to have no friends and is scarcely looking even slightly clean," Bianca continued, "Many believe this is because the Severus doesn't know about basic hygiene and the bat-like robes which it wears make operating taps and showers difficult."

"Mating must also be difficult for the Severus as none dare approach it for risk of having their head bitten off," George teased, "Magizoologists have debated for years whether the Severus really ages or whether it has looked like an erumpet's behind since it was put on the Earth."

"The Severus doesn't seem to have disguises or any camouflage techniques at is always appears in black with an expression of disappointment and annoyance on its face. The only exception to this is when the Severus has spent its evening torturing its prey- also known as 'Gryffindors' for house points which the Severus likes to feast on and then feed to its Slytherin children instead," Fred could hardly contain his laughter.

"Then, of course, there is the strange ritual that the Severus performs several times per day," Bianca said, giggling crazily, "It is referred to as 'teaching' and the Severus does this in front of a large crowd of suffering students. Specialists do not know why this is done as the Severus doesn't seem to enjoy this ritual."

"Then and again," George said, red-faced and spluttering, "It doesn't seem to enjoy anything."

The whole room burst into hysterics for a good few minutes. Laughter filled their lungs, making breathing difficult, but they didn't care. The four rolled around for what seemed like forever until finally they were left gasping for breath on the sofas. Bianca was the first to recover. She always was. Bea had never felt as though she had any family other than the Weasleys, and she made sure they knew that every single day she was with them. They knew what they all meant to her, but still, something inside her was reluctant to take their surname. Maybe one day she'd have a reason. Maybe one day she'd marry one of them or maybe one day she'd finally want to take it as a daughter, as a sister.

"Bea?" George said gently, "Are you ok?"

"I want to know," Bea said quietly, "I want to know who they are, who they were. Why did they leave me out there alone? Why didn't they want me?"

Charlie looked across the room ay his obviously exhausted younger siblings and heaved himself out of one sofa to sink down next to them on the other one.

"One day," he said, wrapping one arm around Bianca and using the other to tussle Fred's hair, "a little seven-year-old boy was sitting at home with all his brothers and his mother in their wonderful, magical house. Each day, the father would leave his family and go to work, returning late in the evening. Each day, his family would sit at home and worry because while their little rugged house was perfect to them, there was a war in their community. None of them knew how or when the war would end and none of them knew if the door would open each night to reveal the man they all loved so much. But, each day, the man returned to his family. That one day, however, the man came home with something else. The seven-year-old boy was playing in the lounge with his younger brothers when his father came in. In his arms, he held a little baby girl, no older than one. The parents didn't know what to do! The man had found the little girl abandoned by a river on his way home from work. So he bought it home to his wife and they raised her together as one of their own. The boy watched the girl grow up with two of his brothers. He watched them play together, laugh together, cry together. The little girl grew into a beautiful young woman, but she didn't know who her real parents were. Her family around her hated seeing her so incomplete and broken and the man who had found her that autumn day tried everything he could to find out who it was that had abandoned her. But no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't find anything," Charlie glanced down at Bianca who had fallen asleep on his shoulder and was breathing slowly and lightly. George was also asleep, with his head resting in Fred's lap and his arm hanging off the sofa.

Fred, who was barely managing to keep his drooping eyes open, looked up and Charlie and said through a yawn, "How does it end?"

Charlie smiled, "As the girl grows more and more, she learns more about who she is and decides that she doesn't need records and birth certificates to know who she is and lives the rest of her life happily with her real family. The family who has loved her from the first day they saw her and will love her until the end."

Charlie leant down slightly and kissed his three younger siblings on the forehead before carefully standing up, scooping up Bianca and carrying her up the stairs and into her room. He carefully tucked her in before returning to the living room, collecting Fred and doing the same. Finally, he picked up George and turned back to the stairs to see his mother standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Charlie honestly couldn't recall how long she'd been there, but he smiled at her and she grinned back at him. Mrs Weasley had tears in her eyes. She'd heard Charlie tell his story to Bianca, Fred and George, and had watched him from the kitchen table as he ever so carefully took each of them upstairs to bed. She walked over to her son and said, "Thank you."

Charlie's smile widened, "I love you, mum."

"I love you more," she winked at him, before pulling him close to her and kissing his cheek. She looked down at George who lay peacefully in his brother's arms and kissed him too.

"You're a good boy, Charlie, a good man. They look up to you, all of them. You and Bill. If it wasn't for the two of you, I don't know what I'd do."

"I'm sure you'd cope," Charlie said, carefully adjusting his arms so as not to disturb George but so that he was in a more comfortable position himself, "You're amazing like that. Goodnight, mum."

"Goodnight, my beautiful boy."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So I know chapters aren't too exciting currently but I promise this story does have a plot line! As I think I've said, nothing really happens until their third year so chapters will all be filler ones until then. So I thought I'd add a bit of unnecessary drama to this chapter just to keep it hopefully interesting until we get to the proper exciting stuff. :D

Chapter 7

The next morning, Fred, George and Bianca got up early and got dressed to head out and practice Quidditch. The three spent a good few hours outside together, flying around the fields before anyone else was even up.

Eventually, however, they decided to head back inside for some breakfast. And so they continued with their little routine. Every morning, they get up, dress warmly, and head out to their secluded pitch to play. Some mornings, Charlie would join them, some mornings, Ron and Ginny would, some mornings, they'd all go out together. But the best mornings, in Bianca's opinion, were the ones where it was just her and the twins.

About three weeks after they started this little, daily activity, Ron and Ginny had joined Bea and the twins out in the crisp morning skies. They were throwing around the ball which Mr Weasley had charmed to act like a bludger. Ginny was chasing after the chestnut which was bewitched to zoom around as a snitch while the twins, Bea and Ron batted the makeshift bludger between them with carved tree branches as bats. Ron, however, was a little unfocused and several times, Fred had to make an epic dive to hit the ball and ensure it was sent in the right direction towards his twin.

"Try and be a bit more accurate, will you, Ron?" Fred yelled, "I'd like to still have my head at breakfast."

Ron turned red and made an obvious effort to hit with more accuracy so as not to behead his brother. The next few rounds, Ron made a clear improvement, but then, his hand slipped and he sent the bludger flying powerfully off towards Fred. Fred dived forwards quickly to intercept the ball before it went flying off into the nearby woods, but the strength of the hit meant that when Fred's swing missed, the 'bludger' slammed straight into Fred's gut. He cried out as he tumbled off his broom, whacking his head off the hoop as he fell. George yelled and tried to get to his brother before he hit the ground, but no one was close enough to help.

With pale faces, the other four, quickly dismounted their brooms (George while he was still a few metres away from the ground) and ran towards Fred, ignoring the ball which was still circling the pitch, somewhat triumphantly.

"Oh Merlin," George breathed, "Fred!"

His brother lay motionless at the bottom of the hoop, limbs twisted at peculiar angles and a small pool of blood leaking out from where he'd hit his head. George looked like he was going to throw up, and Ron was guiltily looking around, trying to find something other than his older brother's broken body to focus on.

"We have to get him back to the house," Ginny said shakily, "Mum will know what to do."

Bianca gulped and nodded. She caught George's eyes and tried for an encouraging smile but it probably looked more like a nervous grimace. But together, the four of them managed to lift Fred and half-carry, half-drag him back down towards the Burrow.

When Mrs Weasley saw them all coming down from the kitchen window, she at first looked glad, their breakfast would have burnt if they hadn't come back soon. Then, she noticed the strange was in which they were moving and hurried out to meet them. It didn't take long for her to realise what was going on, and with worry clearly filling her voice, she shouted for Charlie to come down and help. He took one look at his siblings before racing up the hill, taking Fred off them, carefully slinging the injured twin over his shoulder and jogging back down to the house.

George and Bianca shared a look before racing after Charlie. Ginny glared at Ron and then she too ran off towards the house, leaving her brother to trudge sheepishly after them. He hadn't meant to knock Fred off, it wasn't his fault his aim needed a bit of work!

Mrs Weasley and George knelt down next to Fred who was laying on the sofa in the living room. Bianca sat with Ginny and Charlie opposite them, each shaken and worried. Mrs Weasley performed a few healing charms to stop the bleeding from Fred's head and to put his broken bones back into place, before standing up and saying she'd have to nip out to Diagon Alley to get some potions. George explained what had happened while his mother wrapped Fred's head, arm and legs in bandages. Mrs Weasley shot a brief, irritated glance at Ron, but quickly saw how bad her youngest son felt and went over to hug him.

"Fred will be fine," Mrs Weasley said calmly, "He broke both his legs and an arm in the fall, and cracked his skull slightly when his head hit the hoops but it's nothing to worry about, it's easily fixed. Try not to move him while I'm out, I think his ribs are broken too. I won't be long, I just need a few supplies. Breakfast is on the table if you get hungry."

"Mum," George asked in a quiet voice, "What if he wakes up?"

"Tell him I won't be long and give him a glass of water. Although I doubt he will."

George's face fell and he looked sadly at his brother.

"Don't worry, George," Charlie said, "He's tough, and I reckon he's taken harder hits to the head."

"Try not to make a mess!" Mrs Weasley called as she wrapped herself in a coat and disappeared into the fireplace to Floo to Diagon Alley.

Ron and Ginny got up, seemingly reassured by their mother's words and vanished upstairs to change. Percy passed them on the stairs and entered the living room, demanding to know what all the fuss was about. George clenched is fists but managed to stay silent as Charlie got to his feet and guided Percy away from the living room. Bianca knelt down next to George and took his hand. She studied Fred in concern as he babbled incoherently. His face was deathly pale, with a greenish tint and he seemed to wince in pain every time he breathed in. George was wiping sweat from his brother's brow with a damp cloth.

"Mum said he has a fever," George said. His voice shook even though he knew Fred would be fine, he hated seeing his twin looking so ill and helpless. "That's bad, right?"

Bianca shrugged and said, "She also said he'd be ok, so let's focus on that one yeah?"

"Ron's an idiot," George grumbled.

"Hey," Bianca chided, "He didn't mean to do it, he just has bad aim."

George looked at her in disbelief, "You're joking, right?"

"Of course! He's a massive prat, I'm just trying to be positive because I'm sick of seeing you looking like a depressed and lonely 80-year-old man. I know I'm not quite Fred, but I can dye and cut my hair if you want, I can borrow some of his clothes, and just put a deep voice on, it'll be like, well, like we're twins," Bianca joked.

George laughed, "Shut up. Who'll be you if you're being this great stupid git?"

"We could put Ron in a wig?" Bea suggested, "Think of it as a punishment."

George cringed, "What a horrifying thought," he paused a moment, "You want breakfast? Mum made bacon sarnies."

"Nah," Bianca replied, "You go ahead though, I'll look after this sorry excuse for a brother."

"Ah, so you admit it!" George said, "I am the better twin!"

Bianca pretended to consider this, "No, I mean everyone knows that Fred's better looking, and funnier, and cleverer, and a better Quidditch player."

George put a hand to his heart and gasped, "How could you say that when he just fell off his broom?"

"If you were playing against Ron, Georgie, you'd be naff too," a weak voice croaked from next to Bianca.

"Fred!" George cried, forgetting all about his sandwich and rushing back over, "You're ok!"

"Sure I am! Just gimme a minute to get rid of this awful pounding in my head and I'll be right as rain," he groaned before leaning over and throwing up onto the floor. He grimaced, "Ok, maybe not. Why is the world spinning?"

"Well this wasn't really the warm welcome I was hoping for," a new voice said from behind them. Bea and George turned quickly to see a very familiar face standing behind them.

"Bill!" they shouted and jumped up together to wrap him in a hug. Over the time he'd been in Egypt, he'd become lean and tan, and his hair had grown a good few inches and was now pulled back in a ponytail.

Bill sat down next to Fred and, with a wave of his wand, cleaned up the disgusting puddle of sick which was on the floor, "And what sort of mess have you got into, Freddie?"

"That, Bill, is the very same question I was about to ask myself."

"You don't remember?" George said, "But just now, you were saying that you had to play against Ron!"

"What?" Fred's sweaty brow creased in confusion, "Don't be silly Georgie. I said you had to"

"You really don't remember what happened?" Bianca asked.

"No," Fred said honestly, "Last thing I remember is eating dinner."

"Funnily enough, we've been doing an awful lot of that recently, perhaps you could be a bit more specific?" George said, rolling his eyes.

"We had toad in the hole- that Muggle dish that dad wanted to try. Then mum made steamed pudding for dessert."

"Fred," Bianca said slowly, "That was last week."

"What?!" Fred shrieked, trying to sit up, but deciding that that maybe wasn't the best idea as his face blanched and he lay back down again. "Everything hurts," he moaned.

George was staring at his brother in shock as Bill asked shakily, "Where's mum?"

"She went out to Diagon Alley to get healing supplies," Bianca replied, seeing as George seemed to be in some type of shock.

As calmly and gently as he possibly could, Bill said, "George, why don't you go and get a couple of glasses of water from the kitchen? Then will you nip upstairs and grab Charlie for me?" George nodded a though he was in some sort of trance and got to his feet as Bill continued, "Bea, what happened?"

Bianca explained everything to Bill. From how they always went out in the mornings together, to how Ron accidentally sent Fred flying off his broom, to how Mrs Weasley had left, promising to return quickly. About half-way through the story, George returned with two glasses of water and held them out to Bill who said, "You keep one, take little sips, yeah?" George nodded silently before vanishing up the stairs to get Charlie. As Bianca continued, Bill tried to get Fred, who had passed out again, to drink some of the water without making him choke. By the time Bea had finished, George was getting to the bottom of the stairs with Charlie.

"Bea?" Charlie said, "What happened? What's George mumbling about Bill for?" Then his eyes landed on his older brother, "Bill!"

"Hey, Charlie," Bill said, "You couldn't go and get mum back from Diagon Alley, could you?"

"Sure, why?" Charlie said dubiously.

"Fred woke up before," Bill explained, "After ever so kindly throwing up over Bianca, he was kind enough to let us all know he can't remember any of the previous week and then fainting again. I think he has concussion."

Charlie swore, "Yeah I'll go grab her."

He ran towards the fireplace and in a flash, was gone.

Charlie dashed down Diagon Alley, looking through every shop window until finally, he spotted his mother standing at the till of one shop, holding a few potion bottles. Charlie barged into the shop and pushed to the front where his mother stood.

"Got to get back," he said in between deep breaths of air, "Bill says Fred has concussion and he can't remember any of the last week and George is in some sort of shock and no one knows what to do and-"

"Charlie!" Mrs Weasley exclaimed, interrupting her frazzled son, "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Fred," Charlie said slowly, trying to calm himself down, "Bill said he woke up and was sick and he can't remember any of the last week. Apparently, Fred said he felt really dizzy and everything hurt, or something and then he fainted."

"Bill?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Yes, you know, Bill, your oldest son, works in Egypt?"

"Yes, I know who Bill is. He's come back?"

"Well obviously," Charlie brushed her off, "But George is really worried about Fred and Bill said I should come and get you because he thinks Fred has concussion but doesn't know what to do. You have to come back quickly mum!" He tugged at her arm like an impatient toddler.

"Yes, right, ok, I'm coming," she turned to the baffled-looking shopkeeper, "Thank you very much, I couldn't possibly have a calming draught too, could I?"

"Sounds like you're going to need it," the shopkeeper said, reaching behind him to grab a vial.

Charlie jumped up and down impatiently as his mum paid the man. Usually, Charlie was good at staying calm in bad situations, but when it came to his family, nothing worried him more.

Together, Charlie and Mrs Weasley hurried out the door and onto Diagon Alley.

"We'll apparate," Mrs Weasley decided, "It'll be quicker, take my arm."

With a sickening crack, the two vanished and reappeared outside the Burrow. Before Charlie had regained his senses, Mrs Weasley was rushing into the house, holding her bag of potions carefully.

Bill stood to greet his mother as she hurried in.

"Oh, Bill," she said, "It's lovely to see you."

"You too mum, I've missed you."

Mrs Weasley smiled, "I'll hear all about Egypt once I've sorted these boys out. Could you give a bit of this to George for me please?" she handed Bill the calming draught.

When Mrs Weasley knelt down next to Fred, he stirred slightly and looked at his mum, "Hey, mum," he groaned, "I don't feel so good."

"Oh, Freddie, don't worry, you'll be fine soon."

"I hope so, I don't want to be ill for the rest of the holidays. I have to train!"

"You won't be playing Quidditch for a little while," Mrs Weasley chided, "I want to make sure you're completely better before you go off trying to get yourself killed again."

"Quidditch isn't that bad, mum, I know how to fly properly," Fred protested, "Besides, I'm just a bit dizzy."

"Do you know what happened, Freddie?" Mrs Weasley asked, tipping his head back so she could give him some healing potions.

"I'm just ill, mum, everyone gets ill every now and then."

Mrs Weasley gasped and pulled a face which looked like she was trying to hold back a wave of tears.

"What? You just said I'll be fine soon, it's nothing to get upset about."

Bill and Charlie shared a concerned look and Bianca looked up at George who was holding his glass of water with trembling hands.

"Hey, George," Fred said, "Tell her, tell her I'm ok."

George gulped and smiled, "Of course he his, mum. Once he stops feeling sorry for himself, he'll be right as rain."

"I'm sure," Mrs Weasley said with a sigh, "Drink this for me, Fred, it'll clear your head a bit, I hope."

"Not more potions," Fred grumbled.

"Fred, could you tell me how you're feeling, please?" Mrs Weasley asked, tipping the liquid down her son's throat.

"Everything hurts," Fred said, "My head aches and everyone looks fuzzy."

"What's the last thing you remember doing?"

"Eating dinner with everyone last night. But Bea said that that was last week." Fred replied. He didn't like the way everyone was looking at him, so he tried to sit up, but his arm shot pain through his arm and ribs and he fell back down again, "Ouch," he said. When he tried a second time, Mrs Weasley tried to stop him, but Fred somehow managed to shift himself into a sitting position.

"So judging by the way I'm being stared at by a freak, I'm assuming I'm not just ill?" Fred groaned as a wave of nausea washed over him. "What really happened?" he asked, closing his eyes to try and calm down.

"Ron's naff Quidditch skills happened," Charlie said.

"Charlie," Mrs Weasley scolded, "It was just a little Quidditch incident, Fred."

"Was it heroic?" Fred asked.

"That's one way to put it," Bianca teased, "You screamed like a girl."

"A heroic girl though, right?"

"Sure, like a heroic girl who was defeated by a puny bludger and whacked her heroic head off a hoop," she paused, "Heroically."

Fred groaned, "I whacked my head off one of the hoops?"

"Yup. It was very heroic though."

"I'm sure it was, I personally think falling off my broom is very heroic. I'll have battle scars to prove it."

Bea laughed, "Battle scars and an embarrassing story which I'm sure you'll be happy to tell everyone."

"Oh yeah, they'll all love to hear how I fell off my broom as I screamed like I girl, cracked my skull and broke all my bones."

"Don't forget how you woke up and vomited everywhere," Bea added, "That was very heroic."

"And how I heroically forgot the previous week."

"You'll be remembered for centuries."

"There'll be statues," Fred said.

"Songs written about your adventures."

"Poems,"

"Books,"

"I could be the next Minister for Magic."

"You won't be anything unless you get better," Mrs Weasley said sharply, despite the smile on her face, "So get some rest before you start your campaign to become the minister."

Fred sighed, "It's the middle of the day! Daytime is prank time, not sleep time."

Mrs Weasley glared at him, "You're ill, and if you know what's good for you, you'll get some rest. Come on everyone, I need some help preparing lunch."

Bianca smiled at Fred and helped him into a more comfortable position before following Mrs Weasley into the kitchen, dragging George behind her.

"So, Bill, how long are you back for?"

"Just a week," Bill said, "Sorry it can't be longer, but it was tough enough getting this time off as it is."

"Not to worry, it's lovely to see you. Charlie, could you start on the parsnips, please?"

"What are we having, mum?"

"I thought I'd make some soup," Mrs Weasley said, "George, dear, there's a chopping board behind you, could you pass it to your brother?"

"Oh stop moping around, George," Bill said, looking at his miserable younger brother, "He's fine and you know it. I don't want to spend all week trying to cheer up my depressed little brother."

And with that, he flung George over his shoulder and started dancing around the kitchen to make him laugh. George bounced around on Bill's back, snickering.

"You smiling yet?" Bill asked loudly, but George was laughing too much to reply. "No?"

Bill started jumping up and down with more vigour, spinning around in circles and throwing George around with ease.

"Stop!" George wheezed through his giggles, "Stop!"

"What was that, sorry?" Bill joked.

"Stop! Please, Bill, stop!"

"Not until you admit that I'm your favourite brother!"

"No!"

"Who's your favourite brother, George?"

"Fred!" George laughed, "Stop, Bill, my favourite brother is Fred!"

Bill gasped and dropped George to the floor so he lay on his back laughing, "I'm hurt, Georgie."

George laughed and got to his feet, spending the rest of the afternoon cooking in the kitchen with his family.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I wasn't going to upload two today but I had an issue uploading chapter seven so could you let me know if it went up or not please? Anyways, enjoy chater eight! Exciting story is nearly upon us! ;D

Chapter 8

Fred spent the next few days in a strange, half-conscious state with a high fever. Each morning he'd try and convince his mum to let him go out with George, Bea, Bill and Charlie to play Quidditch but he was told off every time and had to watch sadly as his family went out without him. Ron stopped going with them, too scared there'd be a repeat of what previously happened.

When Fred had finally recovered, there were only a few days remaining before Bill returned to Egypt. He was more than annoyed that he hadn't got to spend much time with his older brother, but Bill promised he'd try and be back for Christmas.

On the last evening before Bill headed back to work, they all had a huge dinner together. George helped Fred come through from the lounge, where he'd been stuck for nearly a week under his mother's concerned eye and together, the twins laughed and joked. Bea sat silently between Ginny and Bill, opposite the twins and Charlie. She'd started talking to Ginny when Fred got hurt and George was too busy fussing over his twin to do much else. The girls had quickly become very close, and Bea regretted not trusting Ginny enough previously. Every so often throughout the meal, Bea would turn and look at Ginny and the girls would giggle quietly for no particular reason.

The rest of the holidays were spent convincing Mrs Weasley to let Fred back on a broomstick and excitedly awaiting their Hogwarts letters. When they finally came about a week before term restarted, Charlie beamed as a small badge fell out his envelope.

"I'm Head Boy!" he said excitedly, "Head boy and quidditch captain!"

"Alright, Charlie, calm down," George said, "Swat."

"Oi! You're just annoyed because now I can give you two detentions."

"Two?" Fred scoffed, "Aren't you forgetting someone?" He pointed his fork at Bianca.

"Rubbish," Ginny said, "Bea's an angel."

"Bea's about as angelic as Snape in the mornings."

Bea put a hand to her heart and feigned looking offended.

Mrs Weasley took their letter from them and wrote a long list of everything they'd need when they went shopping. That afternoon they all made their way to Diagon Alley to collect all their supplies.

Fred, George and Bianca spent their final week at home putting together pranking supplies and talking excitedly amongst themselves about the year ahead.

They met up with Lee on the platform and, after promising a crying Ginny that they'd write to her, they boarded the train and were off again to Hogwarts.

When Dumbledore announced that trials would be held for the Quidditch teams within the first few weeks, Fred and George shared an excited glance and looked down the table at Charlie, who winked at them. They spent the evening eating as much food as they could, discussing Quidditch with their friends and making fun of Fred for his 'heroic' injury from the holidays.

Unsurprisingly, a few weeks later, the twins were named the new Gryffindor beaters. Alicia and Angelina became two of the three chasers and a fifth year was named the third. The keeper from last year, Oliver Wood, kept his position, and Charlie obviously remained as seeker. Lee volunteered to do the commentary for the matches, and with a little reluctance, Professor McGonagall allowed him to do so.

With the new, strong team, Gryffindor managed to win every match they played, but Fred made a point of avoiding flying near the hoops. Charlie and Oliver, who seemed to be slightly obsessed with the sport, were overjoyed when their team was handed the Quidditch Cup. Lee had commentated the match with a debatable degree of success. The twins thought he did an excellent job, but McGonagall wasn't so impressed. The house decided to throw a party in the common room to celebrate. George turned to Fred and Bianca, "Well," he said, "It's been nearly two years, why don't we go and investigate the kitchens?"

So, the three slipped out of the room, the twins still wearing their Quidditch uniforms, and ran down to the bottom corridor, carefully following the Marauder's Map's instructions and ending up in front of a painting of a fruit bowl.

"The painting is laughing on the map," said Bianca, "Maybe we have to tell it a joke?"

So the three tried every joke they knew, but the entrance stayed firmly shut. The twins even tried a slapstick comedy routine but to no avail.

"I know!" George suddenly exclaimed, "Tickle it!"

"What?"

"Tickle the painting! Everyone's ticklish, right?"

So Fred stepped forward and tickled the fruit bowl, but nothing happened. He moved his finger from fruit to fruit until finally, it landed on the pear, and the painting swung open like a door.

"That's how you get in?" Bianca asked in disbelief, "You tickle the pear?"

George smirked, "Apparently, come on."

They followed Fred into the kitchens and were greeted with an array of shocked looking faces.

"House elves?" Fred exclaimed, "House elves work in the kitchens?"

One of them seemed to recover from their shock and moved away from the station it was working at, "We is doing all the work around Hogwarts sirs and miss. We cooks all the meals and cleanses all the common rooms when the students has gone to bed!"

"You all work at Hogwarts?" Bianca asked.

"Why yes, of course!" Another house elf stepped forward and said. "We is being more than happy to make kind sirs and miss some foods."

"Well, you see, we're having a bit of a party and-" Fred started.

And with that, they all started cooking madly. Within minutes, the three had their arms stacked high with all sorts of food.

"Thank you very much," said George.

"You is most welcome," one of the house elves said, beaming happily, "You will all be coming back to see us?"

"I reckon so," Fred grinned.

The three were praised greatly for bringing back so much food to the common room, and for the rest of the year, they visited the house elves in the kitchen at least every week for a snack or for a hiding place when they were running from Filch.

They also made a few trips down to visit Hagrid, the groundskeeper. He was very close to Charlie and the twins had suggested they go and get to know him too. Bianca's love for magical creatures meant after Hagrid had moved away from the fact these were the three he'd spent so much time chasing away from the forest, they got along very well.

Their second year had passed too quickly for their liking. It seemed like after only several more trips into the Forbidden Forest, a lot of pranks and a few detentions that they were sat together again in the Great Hall for the end of year feast. Bianca, George and Fred appreciated their meals much more once they knew who was behind cooking them all, and made sure to pop in to visit the kitchens to say goodbye to the house elves before they boarded the train.

As they wouldn't be allowed to use magic when they were at home, Bea, Fred, George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia all started something of a war on the train home. They each bewitched each other as secretly as they could in the hope the others wouldn't notice before they got off the train and could no longer fix it or get payback. The group were all leaving the train with strange coloured hair and odd markings on their faces, earning more than a few odd looks from parents on the platforms. Mrs Weasley tutted and with a swift wave of her wand returned her children's features to normal.

"Is Bill coming back for the holidays?" Fred asked when they returned to the Burrow.

Mrs Weasley looked at her children sadly, "Bill's caught up in work," she said slowly, "They've found a new pyramid and it's the worst they've found in decades. It's hard enough work keeping the Muggles away, let alone breaking all the curses, he says some of them are deadly."

"The muggles or the curses?" Fred joked with an immature snigger.

"Don't be silly, Fred, you know very well that I mean the curses."

"So he isn't coming?" Bea asked.

He hadn't been able to return at Christmas either, because his boss wasn't happy about him coming home twice so close together.

"I'm sorry," Mrs Weasley said sadly.

That set the holidays off to quite a miserable start, and the mood wasn't improved when Charlie made an announcement one night at dinner.

Errol, the Weasley's owl had arrived at the Burrow, after falling down the fireplace, with a letter tied to his leg.

"It's from the ministry," Percy said, "It's addressed to Charlie."

"Me?" Charlie, although he seemed surprised, knew exactly what the envelope would hold, "It's my NEWT results!" he cried.

"Open it!" George said excitedly.

"I passed everything!" Charlie exclaimed, "I did it all!"

Mrs Weasley ran around the table and wrapped her son in a huge hug, "I'm so proud!"

"Mum," Charlie said quietly, "I know what I want to do. I've been looking into a course, a course to study dragons. And I've got all the grades now."

"Why do I sense a 'but'? Charlie that's brilliant!" Mrs Weasley told him with a smile.

"I'd have to go to Romania."

"You're going to study dragons," Fred asked, "In Romania?"

"Yeah," Charlie itched the back of his neck awkwardly, "I won't have to leave yet, not until the end of the holidays."

Fred and George shared a sad look but George turned and said, "Charlie, you've wanted to work with dragons since before we can remember."

"Yeah," said Fred, "We can't stop you now you've got the chance to follow your dreams. Besides, once you clear out, there'll be more space for everyone else."

"You can go all the way to Romania to study dragons," Bea said, and everyone gasped when they realised she'd spoken in front of everyone for the first time, "That's the best opportunity you're going to get for a long time. You've got the grades, and you've definitely got the skills, why not go for it?"

"And leave all of you? Without me here you three would burn the house down!"

"We're not that stupid," Fred protested, still looking at Bea in surprise, "Anyway, little miss angel over there will keep us in line."

Bea smiled, "You have to promise to visit."

"All the time," Charlie said, grinning.

Mrs Weasley didn't seem to know what to say. She was over the moon for her son, but couldn't believe two of her children had finished Hogwarts already. Ron would be starting this year, then Ginny the year after.

Charlie made sure to spend his last holiday at home in good spirits. He helped out as much as he could and was more than happy to entertain Bea, Fred and George to keep them out of trouble. They had contests to see how could fire gnomes the furthest using Bill's old underpants, sat in the living room and listened to Charlie tell stories about his time at Hogwarts. Some were truer than others, but they were enjoyable all the same. He began tickle wars with his younger siblings and helped them all with their holiday homework.

There was a very sombre mood in the house on Charlie's last night. Ginny had spent hours crying and hugging her brother before Mrs Weasley took her up to bed, promising she could see Charlie in the morning, before he left. Ron was trying to act strong and not be upset but ended up following his little sister up the stairs to avoid the tears which were threatening to fall. Percy had wrapped Charlie in a big hug and told him he'd miss him before he too retired to bed.

"Honestly," Charlie sighed, "It's like I'm dying or something. They do realise they're going to see me again, right?"

Fred laughed and hopped onto Charlie's back, wrapping his arms around his older brother's neck. This was the beginning of a new game they'd developed in which the two people being carried would try and dislodge each other by any means, other than violence.

Bianca quickly 'mounted' George and they took their places on either side of the room.

"Charge!" Fred and Bea yelled in unison and George and Charlie ran towards each other.

Fred stretched his arms out, ready to tickle Bianca as he passed, but Bea had grabbed the feather duster and was waving it around madly. As Charlie and George circled each other, Fred reached into his pocket and removed a dungbomb. Charlie approached George and Fred threw the bomb into his brother's face, before using one arm to cover his own mouth and nose, and the other to cover Charlie's. George began gagging as he stumbled around the room, trying desperately not to breathe in any of the disgusting fumes being released. But, the stench became too much and George dropped Bianca who was also coughing and spluttering.

"Open a window!" George yelled, "You won!"

Still covering his mouth, Fred hopped off Charlie's back and ran over to a window to swing it open. The gas slowly started to vanish out the window and they were all soon breathing in fresh air.

"You cheated!" Bianca accused and she launched herself at Charlie. This broke into the biggest tickle war they'd had that holiday.

Eventually, they all collapsed onto the floor, chuckling and gasping for air.

"I won," Charlie announced. Fred, George and Bea seemed to take this as a challenge and all, with one look, all decided to gang up on their older brother. They attacked him until Charlie was wheezing through his laughs, begging them to stop. So they all sat together on the sofa.

"I'll miss you," Charlie said, "All of you."

"Me the most though," said Bianca.

"Obviously," Charlie laughed and winked, "Everyone knows you're my favourite."

"Oi!" Fred and George protested, "We're right here!"

"I know," Charlie said smugly. The four sat together in silence for a while before Charlie sighed and said, "One day, a little seven-year-old boy was sitting at home with all his brothers and his mother in their wonderful, magical house."

He continued to tell the story exactly how he'd done it the first time, even waiting for Fred to ask how it ended before he concluded the tale how he had done before, "As the girl grows more and more, she learns more about who she is and decides that she doesn't need records and birth certificates to know who she is and lives the rest of her life happily with her real family. The family who has loved her from the first day they saw her and will love her until the end,"

But this time he added something onto the end, "And even when her family moved away for work, they always thought about her and her stupid brothers. She was always on their mind, with her jokes and beautiful smile, and they knew that even when they were apart, true family could never be separated."

It wasn't often that someone could give the twins reason to be serious, but Charlie's stories always managed it. The four sat together in content silence, watching the summer sun set.

"It's late," Charlie said eventually, "I have to get up early tomorrow. So do you, you all have school!"

"Stay down here with us?" George asked quietly.

"Yeah, come on Charlie, you might not see us for years, sleep down here," Fred said and Bea looked up with hopeful eyes.

"Oh, fine," Charlie gave in and got up to grab some blankets and pillows from the cupboard.

He settled back down next to Fred and threw one of the blankets at George and Bianca.

"You won't give Ron a hard time at Hogwarts, will you?" Charlie said.

"Hard?" George said.

"Never, not hard," Fred said innocently.

"More like, challenging," Bianca agreed.

Charlie laughed, "He's only a first year, I remember when you three were in his shoes."

"Yeah, but ickle Ronniekins deserves to be teased. We're just there to make sure he isn't miserable. Got to keep everything cheerful," George explained.

"We won't be mean," Fred said, "We just feel that it's our duty to ensure Ron doesn't forget that he's still our little brother."

Charlie shook his head in despair, "You're evil, all of you."

The four stayed up chatting for hours, until, all yawning, they began drifting off to sleep. Bianca was cuddled up with George while Charlie slumped over in an armchair next to the fire and Fred's head was leaning on George's shoulder. Bianca always felt safe with the twins, no matter what situation she was in, so George's slow, steady breathing was enough to send her off into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Once again I'm sorry it took so long to update, I've had huge issues with my laptop and the internet so I couldn't get on to upload. Very sorry :(

Chapter 9

The next morning was more than chaotic. Due to the hours of talking together last night, Charlie slept in late and had to apparate to the airport with only half an hour before his flight. Fred, George and Bianca ran around their room to try and pack their trunks in the ten minutes they had before they had to leave. Ginny was screaming about how it wasn't fair that everyone else got to go to Hogwarts and she had to stay at home alone all year. Percy was boasting about his new Prefect badge and telling Ron all about Hogwarts.

They all finally managed to make it to King's Cross and pushed their way through the crowds, complaining about the amount of people there. Ginny began complaining again as they reached the barrier and Mrs Weasley shushed her and ushered Percy through to the Platform.

"Fred, you next," Mrs Weasley said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!" Fred said, "Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother. Can't you tell I'm George?"

Mrs Weasley sighed, "Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking," Fred smirked as he ran towards the barrier, "I am Fred."

George squeezed Bianca's hand and then he ran after Fred. Just as Bianca was about to follow, just thinking about how this was her first year passing through the barrier without Charlie holding her hand, when a young boy with ragged black hair and wonky glasses appeared next to Mrs Weasley.

"First time at Hogwarts?" Mrs Weasley was asking him kindly, "Ron's new too."

"Yes," the boy said awkwardly, "The thing is- the thing is, I don't know how to-" he paused uncomfortably but Mrs Weasley saved him.

"How to get onto the platform?" the boy nodded and Mrs Weasley explained to him what to do, "Here, Bianca will show you how it's done, then you can go before Ron. Bianca, dear?"

Bea smiled and ran after the twins, soon finding herself on Platform 9 ¾. She headed over to the twins who were talking excitedly to Alicia. Fred caught her eye, "What took so long?"

Bea looked at him, eyebrow raised and surprised that he'd expect her to answer in front of so many people.

"Right, never mind, come on, let's go find Lee, Alicia says he's got a giant tarantu-"

"Oy, Fred!" George shouted them over from just inside the train, "C'mere and help!"

George was standing next to the scrawny boy from the platform. Bianca and Fred headed on board and helped the boy put his bags on the train safely. The boy thanked them and wiped some sweat from his brow, revealing a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.

"What's that?" George asked, pointing rudely at his head.

"Blimey! Are you-" Fred began.

"He is! " George said while Bianca glared at the boys, "Aren't you?"

The boy looked rather uncomfortable, "What?" he asked.

"Harry Potter!" Fred and George said together. Bea slapped them both across the head.

"Oh, him," the boy said, "I mean, yes, I am."

Harry Potter looked at Bea helplessly and Bea smiled back sympathetically, "I know you!" he said, "You helped show me how to get onto the platform! Bianca, was it?"

Bea smiled and nodded, suddenly understanding why the poor boy was alone.

"Thank you," the boy said, "I'd still be standing in King's Cross if you and your family hadn't shown me what to do. They were your family, right?"

Bea nodded again, hoping the twins would jump in a save her from the awkwardness of Harry asking about her lack of speech, but Fred and George were gawping at Bea. "That's why it took you ages to catch up with us?" Fred said.

"You were helping Harry?" George asked.

Bea scowled and nodded once again but before the situation could get even more awkward, Mrs Weasley called them off the train. Bianca, Fred and George turned to go to their mother but Bea just caught a glimpse of Harry rubbing his scar uncomfortably.

The twins excitedly told their mother about Harry Potter and demanded to know about her helping him onto the platform earlier.

"Now, you two- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Blown up a toilet?" Fred said, shocked, "We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thank, mum," George said.

"It's not funny!" Mrs Weasley scolded, "Bea, you keep them in check. And look after Ron."

"You think Bea cares if we get in trouble?" Fred said, "She's just as bad as us!"

"Rubbish," said George, "She's worse!"

The twins excitedly told their mother about Harry Potter and demanded to know about her helping him onto the platform earlier. Just as they were climbing back onto the train, Ginny burst into tears again.

"Don't Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls," Fred promised.

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!" George joked.

"George!" Mrs Weasley shouted.

"Only joking, mum!"

Ginny chased the train as far as she could run when it started to move, but not long after they'd pulled away, their little sister was well out of sight.

"Right," Fred said, "I want to go and see this tarantula of Lee's."

"Let's tell Ron first," Bea said, "Just in case he needs us."

George rolled his eyes but opened the door behind them anyway to reveal Ron sitting with Harry Potter, "Hey, Ron," George said, "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

Ron grumbled in return and Fred said, "Harry, did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. You already know Bianca, apparently, but this is our brother Ron. See you later, then."

"Right, can we go now?" George said impatiently as they shut the door.

Bea nodded and Fred began dragging the two through the train, pushing people out the way until they found their friends huddled in a carriage around Lee Jordan.

"Give us a look, Lee!" George said excitedly.

While the twins fussed over the spider, Bianca decided to sit next to Angelina in the corner of the carriage instead.

"Not a fan of spiders either, eh?" Angie asked jokingly.

Bianca laughed, "Not really, there's something about growing up with Fred and George that makes you fear most things. For all I know, my sock could blow up when I try to put it on."

"You're scared of socks?"

"Terrified," Bianca giggled.

George glimpsed the girls laughing out the corner of his eye and carefully took the spider from Lee. He headed over to Bianca holding the creature behind his back and innocently asked them what they were laughing about.

"Nothing," Bianca replied sceptically, "What have you got behind your back?"

"Nothing," George mimicked, "Just a little something I thought you girls might want a look at.

He brought his hand around, revealing the tarantula to the girls who both shrieked and jumped away from George who began laughing hysterically. In fact, he was laughing so much, Lee's spider crawled out of his hands and scuttled across the carriage floor.

"Shut the door!" Lee shouted as the tarantula made a bid for freedom.

"Let it out!" Angelina cried, hopping up to stand on the safety of the seat.

Fred dived for the spider at the same time as George leapt forward to close the door, resulting in nothing but the twins crashing into each other, banging heads mid-air and falling to the floor, wincing and rubbing their temples.

"Your head is hard, mate," Fred said.

"My spider is gone!" Lee shouted, jumping over the ginger-haired boys and running out into the corridor.

He and Alicia spent the next hour looking for it while Bea and Angelina refused to move until they knew where it was and Fred and George claimed they were too injured to help the search party.

Eventually, Lee returned triumphantly to his friends, holding the spider carefully and laughing at Alicia who looked flushed and frazzled.

"What happened?" Fred asked.

"It crawled into one of the seventh year boy' cases," Lee laughed, "We had to empty the entire thing to get it out."

"You don't even want to know about the things seventh years have in their luggage," Alicia shivered, causing Angie and Bea to cringe and Fred and George to laugh.

"Trust me," Lee teased, "It's not just the seventh years." He winked at Alicia who cried out in horror and slapped him hard across the face.

"Gross!" she cried.

"How did you know that's where it was?" Angelina asked.

"It wasn't that hard to find the compartment, really," Lee said, "All we had to do was track the various high-pitched screams and yells and voila, we had ourselves a spider-infested carriage."

"What took so long, then?"

"Well first we had to explain why we had a spider," Lee began, "And then we had to figure out which bag it is because the idiots had their cases all stacked up together. So then we had to look through the case and Alicia refused to help- although I don't know why, I would have been more than happy to help her if the spider was in one of the girls'-" this earned him another slap.

"And then it was hiding in one of his shoes and refused to come out."

"It took an hour to coax a spider out of a shoe?" Fred asked in disbelief.

"Tarantulas are stubborn little beasts," Lee said.

"They're also disgusting, hairy and evil- a little bit like you, actually- so would you care to put it away?" Angelina said.

"I'm not disgusting and hairy!" Lee protested, "And I certainly don't have eight legs."

"Put it away!" Angie and Bea shouted.

"Alright, alright, don't get your wands in a knot."

For the rest of the journey, Bea and Angie huddled as far into the corner as they could to keep away from Lee and his 'beast'.

The group happily discussed their holidays and Fred and George dived into great detail when explaining that they'd met Harry Potter who was now sitting with their younger brother further down the train.

"Hey, I wonder if Ron's tried out that 'spell' yet," George laughed, "I still can't believe the feel for it."

"It was mean," Bianca said, "He'll embarrass himself in front of his new friends if he tries it."

"Since when have you cared about Ron's credibility?" Fred asked, "Besides, we're his older brothers, we're meant to embarrass him."

"Maybe she's right though, Fred," George said thoughtfully, "He'll struggle to make friends as it is, we just made things harder."

"George!" Bianca scolded.

"You know it's true," Fred said, laughing.

The group all sat together in the Great Hall that evening to watch the sorting.

"So which house will Ron be in, then?" George said to Fred and Bea.

"Gryffindor," Fred said confidently, "Everyone else was, including mum and dad."

Bianca nodded in agreement but George said, "I reckon he's more of a Hufflepuff. Maybe a Slytherin seeing as he always rats out our pranks."

Just then, the first years filed into the hall, all looking quite nervous and jumpy. One girl seemed to be reciting textbooks as she walked after McGonagall. Ron walked behind Harry Potter, his face quite pale, believing the tales that the twins had told him about the violence and danger involved in the sorting. George gave his younger brother a fake sympathetic smile and watched in amusement as Ron gulped and squared his shoulders. Bianca looked over all the new students as the hat burst into song, silently guessing which house they'd all be sorted into.

Finally, McGonagall began reading names from her scroll and the first years began to join their new houses. The bushy haired girl who had been reciting facts on her way in, joined them at the Gryffindor table, much to Bianca's surprise. The sorting continued peacefully until,

"Potter, Harry!"

Whispers immediately filled the hall as people leant around their friends to catch a glimpse of Harry. Everyone was staring at him curiously and a pang of sympathy burst into Bea's heart. All Harry had received since entering their world were stares and gawps. No friendly greetings, just rumours about his past.

After a few minutes, Harry was shakily walking down to join them while Fred and George chanted happily, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Bianca smacked them both on the back of the head and giggled as Percy stood up to shake Harry's hand. She smiled reassuringly down at the new Gryffindor and he grinned and waved back at her.

Just as Ron was joining his elder siblings, someone caught Bianca's eye. A man with a large turban on his head who Bianca vaguely recognised as Professor Quirrell, the Muggle Studies teacher, was staring at Harry, an evil look of hatred in his eyes. Bianca watched the man for a while, but quickly turned away when his horrible gaze turned to her.

Rumours about the professor had always flown around the school, how he hadn't been 'normal' since he returned from his trip to Albania years ago. Something about him had always made Bianca feel uncomfortable, but she could never place what. She'd never interacted with him, but even Quirrell's presence at meals made her feel jittery.

In fact, Bianca had been so immersed in her thoughts, she didn't notice when the glorious food appeared on the table before her. As soon as Fred nudged her, however, Quirrell was pushed to the back of her mind as she focused entirely on the feast. Bianca vaguely noticed Harry wince in pain a little while later and saw his hand fly up to his scar, but she was distracted by the interesting conversation which Fred and George had started with Nearly Headless Nick.

"Denied again!" Nick was saying dramatically.

"Why don't you start your own group?" Fred suggested.

"Yeah, you could form a band!" George said.

"Only accept those who are nearly headless, and then you could sell millions of albums! You'd outshine the headless hunt any day! They'll regret the day they rejected your request."

"I suppose my singing isn't too shabby," the ghost said, straightening his back, "How about I write a few songs and get back to you?"

"We'd be delighted to hear them," George said encouragingly.

Bianca gave the boys a look which said 'what are you doing?!' but smiled at the ghost.

"I can't wait!" Fred laughed.

Bianca sighed and turned to face Dumbledore, who had got to his feet and was facing the mass of students. Fred and George smirked as a few rather pointed warnings were given about entering the Forbidden Forest and using magic in the corridors. The three also shared an excited look when the Quidditch tryouts were mentioned but their smiles fell when Dumbledore warned them all about the third-floor corridor. Their secret transporting room was just next to that!

As usual, Bianca sat silently between the twins as they sang the school song to the tune of a funeral march. The hall laughed as Dumbledore conducted their last few bars and clapped loudly when they were done.

"Come on," Fred said as the hall began to clear, "Let's go to the kitchens!"

Bianca gave him a shocked look; they'd just eaten a huge feast and were all stuffed!

"Don't give me that look," Fred said, "I want hot chocolate."

Bianca sighed and rolled her eyes but followed the boys nonetheless. Just as they had done so many times before the holidays, they tickled the pear and stepped into the kitchen to be greeted by hundreds of tiny, smiling faces.

Only a few seconds later, they stood with huge mugs full of hot chocolate and topped with cream, marshmallows and chocolate flakes in their hands.

"Brilliant," George said, "Thank you very much."

"It is being our greatest pleasure sirs and miss!" one of the house elves replied happily.

The three turned and, sipping their hot chocolates as they went, headed back to the common room.

"Do either of you know the password?" Bea asked as they approached the portrait, cream on the tips of their noses from their drinks.

"Percy told me earlier," George said, turning to the Fat Lady, "Caput Draconis."

The painting swung open to reveal the common rooms and Fred, George and Bianca headed towards a few empty seats in the corner to finish their hot chocolates.

"It's good to be back," Fred said happily, "I wonder who the new Dark Arts Professor is, Dumbledore didn't mention it, did he?"

"No," George said, "But I heard Quirrell is taking it, Snape's not impressed apparently."

"That'll be why he looked so annoyed at dinner then," Fred said, "But why would Quirrell switch from Muggle studies?"

"Beats me," George yawned, "I bet he'll be naff, though. Doesn't seem to know a thing."

"At least give him a chance," Fred said, "Then when he does turn out to be useless, we'll have a better excuse to prank him. Right, Bea?"

Bianca forced a laugh, becoming awkward at all the talk of their new teacher. She couldn't shake the image she had of him glaring so horribly down at her and Harry and she wasn't sure she wanted to be put in a room with him for an hour in lessons.

"Bea?" George was looking at her curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Bea said quickly, "I just think it's a bit strange that Quirrell has so suddenly switched subjects. It doesn't seem right."

"It is weird," Fred agreed, not completely buying her cover, "But that's not everything, is it?"

"Tell us, Bea, come on, we don't keep secrets from each other."

"It's probably just me being paranoid," Bea started, "But at dinner, I saw Professor Quirrell looking down at Harry Potter. He had the most evil glint in his eye, as though he hated Harry. And then, he turned to look at me with the same awful expression! Something about him didn't seem normal."

"Weird," George said, "I've always heard from Bill and Charlie that he's pathetic! He's too cowardly to stun someone, let alone anything else."

"And why would he hate Harry when he's probably never even met him? Harry had only been in the school, what, half an hour? And you've never talked to him in your life, Bea!" Fred said.

"Like I said, I'm probably just being paranoid. Now, it's been a long day, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning!"

"Night, Bea!" the twins called after her.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Are you joking?" Fred exclaimed loudly as they received their timetables from McGonagall the next morning.

"Double potions then History of Magic?" George cried, "This has to be a mistake!"

"I'm afraid not, Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sharply as she filled in Bianca's timetable, "Whether you like it or not, you will be attending these lessons this morning, so I suggest you hurry and finish your breakfast. I don't want Gryffindor losing points before lunch on the first day."

"Yes, Professor," George said sheepishly.

"At least we have Care of Magical Creatures after lunch. That'll be something to look forward to, right?"

"With Professor Grubbly-Plank? Even Charlie said he had to teach himself everything when he had her. Swore Hagrid could take her job any day he liked."

"Grubbly-Plank is better than Snape," Fred said with a mouth full of milky cereal, "Her classroom doesn't smell like a dead rat for starters."

"She doesn't have a classroom, idiot."

"Course she does!" Fred said, "She can't make us go out and study creatures in the rain! What do you think we'll do then, eh?"

"Get wet," George said shortly, getting to his feet, "Hurry up, Fred, we'll be late to Potions and you heard what McGonagall said."

Fred stuffed the last few spoonfuls into his mouth and hurried after George and Bianca.

Potions was as dull and boring as it had been last year. Fred and George, as usual, perfected their potion without any help and within the first half of their double lesson, meaning they had plenty of free time to mess around and ruin everyone else's. This 'messing about' included sneaking some extra frogs legs into Snape's own example, causing it to slowly swell up in its cauldron and emit a rather potent stench. Needless to say, Snape was not impressed as he quickly removed the smell from the air and cleaned up his potion.

"Whomever it is that did this and clearly thinks they're hilarious, I assure you now you are not. I hope you do not see yourself being a successful comedian or opening a joke shop in the future. I shall happily warn you now it won't go well for you," Snape snarled as he prowled around the classroom, clearly wanting to deduct points from Gryffindor, but having no evidence of the twins' crime.

Fred and George, however, had gained an excited gleam in their eyes and Bianca could tell what they were thinking from the other side of the room. A joke shop. It was perfect for the mischievous pranksters. One look at them immediately told anyone they weren't suited to a job in the Ministry or as a Healer or Professor. They wouldn't be able to take it seriously! They wouldn't have to take orders from anyone as they'd be their own bosses and they could use their endless creativity to supply happiness and laughter! No rules, no consequences, only them and their business.

Bianca could tell they were having one of their freaky telepathic twin conversations. Bianca never had been able to understand these particular discussions so Fred and George didn't do it often, but the boys had always been able to look at each other and tell exactly what the other was thinking, just from their eyes and expressions. It was an art Bianca had only ever seen Fred and George perform, and she'd never mastered it herself, but right now, she knew what they were saying, and it was mostly excited mumbling and jumbled ideas. Who knew Snape would be such an inspiration?

"We'll invent our own products," Fred was saying excitedly as they left the dungeons to head to lunch an hour later.

"And we'll have a huge shop which is all bright and colourful," George continued.

"So people won't help but smile when they walk in!" Fred finished.

Their continual stream of ideas carried them all the way through lunch and well into History of Magic. Bianca had every faith in the twins, they clearly had the intelligence, people-skills and humour to pull it all off, and she knew just by looking at them that it truly was their new biggest dream, despite only having had it less than half a day. She sat contently between Fred and George as they babbled on like toddlers throughout the lesson, drowning out Professor Binns' lesson. They definitely had some brilliant and some far-fetched plans for their ideal future store.

Care for Magical Creatures gave a definite sense of relief after their torturous and boring morning. They learnt about gnomes- something Bea had plenty of experience with- and it was surprisingly interesting. Fred and George weren't so impressed, but they certainly preferred it to Potions.

The next morning, they started the day with Defence Against the Dark Arts. Bianca was extremely nervous and jittery all through breakfast, meaning Fred and George tried extra hard to keep the mood light. The boys didn't see the problem with Quirrell, to them, he was just a stuttery man in a turban, but something about him clearly made Bianca uneasy, even though none of them knew what that was.

As soon as Professor Quirrell opened the door to his classroom, an overwhelming stench of garlic washed over the third year students. Coughing and spluttering, they filed into the room, where the smell just intensified. It was truly rancid and every time Quirrell passed one of their desks, his turban seemed to emit the awful fumes.

Bea took a seat next to George with Fred and Lee behind them. When their creepy professor passed their desk, he hesitated and turned to look at Bea, giving her an awful attempt at a smile. Shivers shot down Bianca's spine. Everything about this man unnerved her and she shuffled her chair to the left slightly so that she was closer to George.

It was quite obvious Professor Quirrell didn't know what he was doing. He stuttered his way through the lesson, occasionally asking the class questions which he himself didn't know the answers to. When Fred and George noticed this, they, of course, unleashed their prankster sides and began giving utterly ridiculous answers.

"S-s-so, could a-anyone t-t-t-tell me what the counter curse to a st-s-stunning spell is?" Quirrell asked the class and two hands shot into the air.

"Mr Weasley?"

"Which one?" Both the twins responded in unison.

"Wh-whichever."

"The counter curse to a stunning spell is 'please don't hit me!'," George said at the same time as Fred screamed rather loudly.

George looked at Fred, "Why did you scream?" he asked.

"I thought he was going to try and stun us!" Fred said, "I got scared so I screamed."

Nobody thought the twins gimmick was all that funny, but the look on Quirrell's face was priceless. The lesson continued in this manner, and eventually, other students stopped putting their hands up to answer their professor, leaving Fred and George to tease Quirrell for what remained of the hour.

As they left the classroom, Fred grimaced and said, "I don't think my nose will ever be the same! I'm going to be smelling rotten garlic for the rest of my life!"

"Can garlic rot?" George asked his brother, laughing slightly.

"Anything can rot," Fred said.

"But garlic's a plant, surely it would just rot to soil?"

Bea looked at the twins in exasperation, not bothering to set them right and allowed them to squabble as they headed to transfiguration,

One the boys had finally come to some sort of an agreement, George asked Bianca, "He wasn't that bad, was he? Professor Quirrell, that is."

Bianca shrugged- she still had an uneasy feeling hanging on her shoulders about their teacher- but didn't reply to George as they took their seats in transfiguration.

She remained distracted throughout the lesson, not performing to her usual standard and her mind staying focused on their strange new teacher. Perhaps it was the stutter that put her off, but she'd been uneasy before even the welcoming feast, so had she just heard from Bill and Charlie about Quirrell's stammer? Or maybe it was the stomach-turning stench of garlic that hung around the man? But she couldn't have smelt it from so far away the other night!

At dinner that night, the twins approached Ron, their younger brother, who was sitting with Harry Potter. They too were discussing Quirrell with disgust.

"It's the stench," Ron complained, "Why does it always reek of garlic whenever he passes?"

"Keeps the vampires away," George said matter-of-factly, sitting down opposite his brother, "He stuffs garlic in his turban for protection."

"We reckon he had a nasty run-in with some vampires back in the day," Fred said, "He's terrified of them."

"Is that why he stutters?" Harry asked.

"Couldn't tell you," George said, "I think it must have been something very nasty to traumatise him like that."

"Must have been something _much_ worse than a vampire," Fred added.

"The man's a wimp though!" Ron said, "He'd have nightmares if a bowtruckle came too close!"

"I'll take now to remind you that you spent three hours crying because you saw a gnome for the first time," George said.

Fred nodded in agreement, "You can't call anyone a wimp after that."

"I was three!" Ron cried, "And it's not like I'm still scared of them."

Fred and George nodded sympathetically and winked at Ron, "Don't worry, Ronnie, we understand you want to look cool to make friends with Harry," Fred said.

"Yeah," George whispered jokingly, "We won't tell him you're scared of gnomes, don't worry."

"But he's-" Ron started, pointing at Harry who was listening to the whole conversation.

"What's a gnome?" Harry asked, interrupting his friend.

"Gnomes are little creatures that like to live in our garden," George explained to Harry.

"And Ron definitely isn't scared of them," Fred added with a wink.

Ron sighed and huffed and was about to open his mouth to protest but George cut him off, "Anyway, must be off, see you later Ronnie, bye Harry."

The twins got up and headed off so Bianca rolled her eyes, smiled at Harry and followed.

"You don't have to torture him every time you see him," Bianca said, "You know that, right?"

"Where's the fun in having a pleasant conversation with him?" George asked over his shoulder.

"But you're- hang on, where are we going?"

"Kitchens," George replied.

"Why?"

"Pudding," said Fred.

"You just had pudding!"

"More pudding," corrected Fred.

"Honestly, Bea," George sighed as he tickled the pear, "You should know us better by now!"

After their second dessert of the night, the three, now very full, headed back to the common room. They sat with Lee, Angie and Alicia besides the window, laughing and chatting about their first few days back at school until the common room around them was empty.

A few weeks later, the group were headed down to the Halloween feast. Harry had made the new Quidditch team and Fred, George and Bea had kept their places with Angie and Alicia.

As they took their seats with the rest of the Gryffindors, Bea looked up at the staff table and something caught her eye.

"What's wrong?" George asked, spotting her nervous look.

Bea pointed up to the gap between Snape and Flitwick and the twins followed her finger.

"Quirrell," said Fred, "He's not there."

George brushed them off, "He's probably hiding in his office. You know what he's like, probably scared of the bats or something."

Fred nodded and pulled Bea down to sit between him and his brother. They ate happily until, just as Fred was stuffing a huge fork-full of mashed potato into his mouth, the missing professor burst into the hall. Quirrell sprinted to the front of the hall and leaned against the table in front of Dumbledore, gasping for breath.

"Troll!" he breathed, "In the dungeons- thought you ought to know."

He collapsed as the hall around him burst into chaos. Purple sparks exploded into the air as Dumbledore attempted to regain control. "Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Percy shot to his feet, shouting at the terrified Gryffindors and herding them out of the hall. As Bea struggled to get up in all the pushing and shoving going on around her, she tripped and her shoe flew off and was kicked across the room. Fred, not noticing what had happened, continued to drag her out of the hall. She couldn't do anything. In the huge crowds around her, there was no way she could find the voice to tell the twins that her right shoe was currently underneath the Hufflepuff donner table.

In the end, she resulted in slapping George to get his attention and pointing down to her shoe-less foot.

George sighed and grabbed Fred's collar to stop his brother from walking away without them.

"Where?" George asked. Bianca mimed eating and turned to head back to the hall.

"Bea!" Fred called after her, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Bianca looked over her shoulder in confusion.

"The troll!"

Bea shrugged and continued. It was in the dungeon, not the hall and she'd be fast! She was vaguely aware of the twins chasing after her as she ran- somewhat awkwardly with only one shoe- back to the Great Hall.

"Why couldn't you have waited till tomorrow?" George asked, jogging alongside Bianca, "It's not like the troll is going to take it."

"Yeah, Bea, why couldn't you have gone back to the dorms with everyone else? You know, like a normal person?"

"It'll only take a second," Bea said, "You didn't have to follow me."

"Of course we did," George laughed, "We weren't going to let you go off by yourself!"

"Besides," Fred said, "If you get us killed we can have stories written about us about how we, being the heroes that we are, tried to rescue your precious show from the troll's evil clutches and protect you but tragically died in battle."

"More like how your pathetic attempts at humour scared the troll so much it rampaged through the castle and killed everyone," Bianca retorted, "I don't think that's a tale you want people hearing. 'The Great Prankster's Final Joke'."

"Now that's just rude," George said, "One day, when we've made a successful career out of pranks and you're working somewhere in the Ministry by yourself, you'll be wishing you never said that."

"You couldn't start a business without me," Bea laughed.

"Try us."

"Besides, even if you did abandon me, I can always go and live with Bill or Charlie. You know I'm their favourite."

"Just because you act so perfect in front of them," George scoffed, "We know you're a devil really."

"Nonsense. I'm the only well-behaved part of the three of us."

George looked at Fred, "Do you ever wish dad never found her?" he joked.

Bea gasped, "You don't mean that!" she cried, holding back laughter.

"You're more of a trouble-maker than us put together."

"But that's why you love me, right?"

Fred pretended to gag, "In your dreams."

"I see how it is then," Bea said, "When we get back home, I'll be moving into Ginny's room."

"More space for us then."

Bea rolled her eyes and shook her head as the three finally made it back to the Great Hall. She tensed slightly upon seeing Quirrell dusting himself off. He glanced around the room and returned a large chain of what looked like keys to his inside cloak pocket. When his eyes fell on the students, all three of whom were looking at him suspiciously, he straightened and a quick look of fear passed through his eyes.

"Wh-what are you three d-d-doing here?" he stuttered, "You should b-be in your common rooms."

"Bianca lost her shoe, sir," Fred said, "We just came back to get it."

"You all heard P-pr-professor Dumbledore," Quirrell said, "It's d-dangerous to be out in the corridors alone."

"That's why we came together sir," George said.

"Well, h-h-hurry back now, and f-five points from Gryffindor for disobeying the headmaster."

Bianca headed across the hall to retrieve her shoe from under the table as she heard Fred ask, "Sir, might I ask what you were doing in the dungeons when everyone else was at the feast?"

"Wh-what was that Weasley?"

"It's just, you knew the troll was in the dungeons. Why weren't you with everyone else at the feast?"

Bianca slipped her shoe back on and ensured to tie it tightly.

"I was j-j-j-just making my way here when I saw it," Quirrell said defensively.

"But sir," said George, "The dungeons are-"

"Enough questions!" Quirrell snapped in a very un-Quirrell like manner, "Head back to your dormitories all of you. Quickly now!"

The three shared a look before turning and running back through the corridors to the common room.

"He's lying," Fred said as they took a seat just next to the entrance, "The dungeons are on the opposite side of the school to his office, why would he pass them on his way to the feast?"

"He wouldn't," said George, "And why did he hang around in the hall so long? If I were him, I'd want to be out of there as quickly as possible!"

"And his voice," Fred added, "As soon as he lost his temper, his stutter vanished. It didn't even sound like him."

"I've never heard him lose his temper before," nodded George.

Bianca mimed putting a key in a lock, turning it, and putting it in her pocket. Over the many years, Fred and George had become very good at interpreting Bea's variation on sign language and both boys thought it was strange that she wouldn't talk now. Granted, they were in the common room, but why didn't she just talk in a hushed voice like usual? With a quick glance at each other, the twins decided to leave it for now and focus on what she was trying to tell them.

"He had the keys," said George, "he was putting them back in his pocket."

"But why?"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Any thoughts of the troll incident were quickly washed from their minds as the first Quidditch match of the year approached. Wood had them practising nonstop in preparation for their game against Slytherin on Saturday and soon, Bianca was sitting in the changing room between Fred and George listening to Wood give his usual pre-match pep-talk.

"Ok, men," he started.

"And women," Angie interrupted.

"And women. This is it," Wood continued.

"The big one," said Fred from Bianca's right.

"The one we've all been waiting for," George continued as Fred turned to Harry.

"We know Oliver's speech by heart," he explained, "We were in the team last year."

Oliver told the twins to shut up and Bianca smacked them across the head so the captain could continue.

"This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it. Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."

The team filed out onto the itch and stood in front of the Slytherin team while Wood shook hands with the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint. Bianca could practically feel the nerves radiating from Harry, but a smile flickered across his face when he spotted his friends in the crowd. She really felt sorry for him; he'd been at Hogwarts less than a term and already he'd battled a troll and found himself playing a sport he hadn't even heard of a few months ago in front of the entire school. She gave him a reassuring smile as the teams mounted their brooms and the game started.

Bianca tried to ignore Lee's loud commentary as she flew up and down the pitch passing the quaffle to Angie and Alicia.

"stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor keeper Wood," Lee was saying, "And Gryffindor takes the quaffle."

Bianca caught the quaffle with one hand and turned to head towards the other end of the pitch as she swerved around the Slytherin captain.

"That's chaser Bianca of Gryffindor there, nice diver around Flint, off up the field and-"

Bianca yelped and dropped the quaffle as a hard force collided with the back of her head.

"OUCH- that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head with a bludger," Lee continued.

Bianca rubbed her head, looking up to see the offending bludger whizzing away and George hovering next to her.

"Sorry," he said, "Couldn't get to it in time. You alright?"

Bea nodded and flashed him a thumbs up with a look that said 'be faster next time' for now Slytherin was in possession. Bianca raced off after the Slytherin Pucey who had the Quaffle and grinned as Fred whacked a bludger in his direction, allowing Angelina to take the quaffle back. Bianca watched excitedly as her friend aimed the ball and threw it straight through the hoops. The girls flew past each other and high-fived happily.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bea could see Fred fly up to Harry and bat a bludger away from him towards Flint. Not a minute later, excitement rippled through the crowd as Harry and the Slytherin seeker Higgs began an intense race for the snitch. Harry was pulling ahead but the Gryffindor team all cursed angrily when Flint pulled in front of the boy, sending him spinning off course. Alicia took the free shot, easily scoring and Bianca zoomed to catch the bludger, just have it taken when she tried to pass to Angelina and a Slytherin chaser intercepted.

"Slytherin in possession- Flint with Quaffle- passes Spinnet- passes Bianca- hit hard in the face with a bludger, hope it broke his nose- only joking, Professor- Slytherin score-"

But Bianca wasn't listening anymore. Her worried eyes were fixed on Harry whose broom was gradually taking him higher and higher as it tossed him backwards and forwards. One large jerk from the broom sent Harry toppling off the edge so that he was dangling from it with only one hand holding on. Fred and George flew up to Harry to try and pull him to safety on one of their brooms, but Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand just moved him away. The twins looked at each other in fear- the higher Harry was, the more he had to fall. So instead, the dropped down and circled below so they could catch him if need be. Bianca scowled as she saw flint throw the Bludger into the hoops five times without anyone caring.

After a few very tense minutes, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back onto his broom without it trying to dismount him. Fred and George stayed below him just in case as the match continued until Harry was making an epic dive down towards the pitch. Bianca held her breath as she watched. From where she was positioned, she couldn't see the little golden ball which Harry was clearly reaching for. His hand flew to his mouth as he collided with the ground, landing on his hands and knees. He retched as though he was going to be sick, and Bianca grimaced, not realising that he'd coughed up the snitch until the crowd around her blew up in excitement. She and the twins danced and cheered before running to the kitchens to fetch some food for Gryffindor.

As Christmas rolled around, the lake froze over, creating a perfect ice rink for Bianca, the twins and their friends, and a fresh coating of snow covered the grounds. One particularly frosty morning saw Fred, George and Bianca hiding behind a bench with an army of snowballs behind them. They hid there until poor Professor Quirrell passed and their snowballs began following him around, bouncing off the back of his head.

"Funny," said Fred when they'd calmed down enough to talk without bursting into laughter, "I didn't see any garlic fall out his turban."

As usual, the twins had managed to get Bianca out of trouble by claiming she'd been in the common room up until she came to find where they were. The boys had even gone as far as to get Lee, who really had been in the common room, to vouch for them, meaning that while Fred and George would be in detention, Bianca would not.

"Yeah," agreed George, "Not even one clove. He was super protective over it though. Did you hear him hissing?"

Fred laughed, "He didn't look too impressed. But the way he flung his arms over it, I mean, all the snowballs would have done is unravel it at most."

"Maybe he didn't want his precious garlic getting wet?" suggested Bianca, although she too thought the teacher's behaviour had been quite odd. As soon as the 'attack' had started Quirrell had wrapped both hands around the back of his head and every time a snowball hit him, he'd make a strange hissing noise in anger.

"On another note," Fred said, "Percy says mum sent an owl this morning. She and dad are going to visit Charlie over the holidays so we have to stay here."

"Do they miss him already?" George scoffed, "It's only been a few months! I bet you anything if we went off to Romania they wouldn't come to us for a good few decades!"

"That's because they'd be enjoying the peace and quiet," said a familiar voice behind them, "Besides, they'd never let you go to Romania, you're not responsible enough."

"Percy, Percy, Percy," George sighed, turning to face his older brother, "I think you'll find we're more than responsible."

"The fact you've been throwing snowballs at a teacher suggests otherwise," Percy said smugly, "Mother and I both warned you that you had to behave, you're giving us a bad reputation."

"Rubbish," said Fred, "We're providing laughter, Percy, an experience I doubt you've ever had. Just because we know what it's like to make someone smile, doesn't mean you have to go around after us making everyone miserable again."

"There's a difference between making someone miserable and being sensible, George," Percy said to Fred, causing both twins to stand straighter, "And the only thing I do after you is clean up."

And with that, Percy stalked off, leaving two very offended ginger twins behind him.

"I see why you don't talk to him now, Bea," fumed Fred, "The git can't even tell his own brothers apart!"

"Don't let him bother you," Bianca said, "He was probably doing it on purpose."

This didn't seem to cheer either of the boys up. Bianca knew they hated it when people mixed them up, especially people who knew them well. With new people that they'd only met once or twice, they didn't mind for obvious reasons, but when their own older brother who they'd seen pretty much every day since they were born? Surely he should know.

George glared after his older brother, "And mum and dad swear he's definitely related to us?"

"Forget it," Bianca said, "Anyway we have something a lot more exciting to be thinking about."

The twins shared a confused look, "What?"

"Hogsmeade!" Bianca cried, "It's our first trip tomorrow."

The twins had been stopped from going to Hogsmeade the first time their year went in October as punishment for one of their pranks and Bianca had thought it unfair to go without them. The next morning, however, Fred, George and Bianca would be joining the rest of the third years in the small village.

Bianca forced the conversation forward to distract the boys from their annoyance at their older brother and by the time they reached the common room, Fred and George were happily discussing Zonko's Joe shop and all the idea they could get from there for their own future business with all annoyance at their brother forgotten.

"Oi, Fred, George, Bea!" Lee was calling them over from across the common room where he sat with Angelina and Alicia. "Last Hogsmeade weekend we all went out for lunch at the Three Broomsticks. We wondered if you'd like to join us this time?"

"Sounds great," said George without consulting Fred or Bianca, "I'm in."

"Definitely," agreed Fred, "It's a date," he added with a joking wink in Angelina's direction.

"You in, Bianca?"

Bea nodded happily, grinning at her friends and already excited. They'd only ever seen tiny glimpses of Hogsmeade when getting off the train at the start of the year so just thinking about getting to spend a whole day in the little village made Bianca happy.

The next morning, she, Angelina and Alicia woke up early and began getting ready. A beautiful dusting of snow covered the ground so each of them pulled on warm fluffy jumpers and thick socks. Just as Bianca was pulling on her winter boots, the snow outside began cascading rapidly from the sky, landing gracefully on the trees. Within minutes, the once light covering was thick, crisp and deep, with snowflakes still tumbling down.

"You realise Fred and George will start a snowball fight on the way to Hogsmeade, right?" Bianca warned the girls.

"Obviously," Alicia laughed, "But we have a plan, don't worry."

So, when the girls met the twins and Lee in the common room, they were silently laughing, prepared for the inevitable.

The group headed down to breakfast together still discussing what they would spend their day doing. After a quick bite to eat (they were saving themselves for Honeydukes) they got up to leave with the rest of the upper school.

"Wait," Fred said, "I have an idea." He turned to Angie, Alicia and Lee, "You guys go, we'll catch you up. Come on." And he took off down the corridor.

George and Bianca had time to share a baffled look before they ran after Fred, calling, "Walk slowly!" over their shoulders.

They caught up to Fred just as he was heading through a familiar painting of a fruit bowl. When they too had entered the kitchen, Fred already had six mugs of steaming hot chocolate on the bench in front of him.

"Help me transfigure these mugs," he said to Bianca.

"Into what?"

"Those weird cups that muggles have. You know the ones that have a lid on so it keeps your drink warm?"

After a few attempts, a few spilt hot chocolates and a few replacements from the house elves, the three finally had six portable mugs of hot chocolate before them and once George had cast a small charm to keep them all warm and to prevent them from slipping, they each took two, thanked the house elves and ran off to catch up with their friends.

"Could you not have had that idea before breakfast so we didn't have to run halfway across the school?" George asked Fred breathlessly, handing Lee a mug.

"Oh I had it last night," Fred replied simply as Angelina took her drink from him, "It's just not as fun if we have to be boring about it."

"I think you'll find hot chocolate is a very important matter," Lee said, ducking his head slightly against the wind, "It should be taken with nothing but the utmost seriousness."

"Would you rather I take them all back?" Fred said, reaching an arm out to grab Lee's cup.

"No, no," Lee's eyes widened in fear, "I'm just saying it would have been a welcome suggestion earlier on, that's all."

To that, he was met with a snowball to the face.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, "I never said I wasn't grateful!"

"Tough," Fred replied and he and George both threw a snowball in Lee's direction at the same time.

Instantly the boys were in the middle of a fully-fledged war, with snow and ice splattering everywhere. Bianca couldn't help but join in, gathering snow up and compacting it together, then aiming it carefully at George's turned back. Angelina and Alicia smirked at each other and began collecting snow up to throw it at the boys.

The boys, however, couldn't fight back. None of their ammo ever got near the girls, no matter how hard they threw. Each one fell to the ground a metre or so away from their targets.

"Cheats!" George called, "How are you doing that?"

"Magic," Bianca laughed, "Duh."

In vain attempts to get back at the girls, George, Lee and Fred gradually began making their snowballs bigger, all the while being battered with ones from across the path.

"That's not a snowball, that's a snow boulder!" Angelina shouted at Fred, ducking, despite her protective spell. But while George had distracted them with his 'snow boulder', Fred and Lee had been rolling an even larger mound of snow into a sphere- a snow mountain, perhaps- which was now thundering towards Bianca. It was too late to move, so instead, she braced herself for the impact. Not a few seconds later, she was being pushed backwards down the hill, rolling underneath the weight of a ginormous snow pile. She could vaguely hear her friends calling her name through the snow which was gathering in her ears and when she reached the bottom of the hill, the snowball exploded, showering her in snow and burying her underneath it. The smile melted from her face. She'd been laughing as she was falling, snow was soft after all so she wasn't hurt, but now she couldn't dig herself out. She lay face first on the ground, under the snow, unable to pull herself out of it.

Panic was starting to build inside her now. She wasn't so deep that she couldn't breathe, but Bianca was surrounded by cold, wet, immovable snow. It was soaking into her clothes and dripping down her neck so her whole body shivered.

Finally, she could feel hands digging at the snow above her and pulling her upwards. Bianca coughed and opened her eyes to see Fred and George holding her looking worried. All five of them began firing worried questions and apologies at her, but Bianca looked at the girls and said, "I think something went wrong with our protection charm."

Angelina, Alicia and Lee breathed a sigh of relief but Fred and George didn't look too comforted.

"Are you ok?"

"Of course I'm ok, it's just snow."

"But you were buried underneath it all and-"

"George, I'm fine, I promise."

"I'm so sorry," Fred said, "We thought your charm would stop it."

"It's ok! No harm done, honestly. Now, I believe we had a certain village to be visiting. Help me up, will you?"

Fred and George gently pulled Bianca to her feet, still looking a little bit nervous. She was shivering and stumbled when they started to walk but quickly found her feet and shuffled after her friends, wrapping her arms around herself to try and warm up.

"You'll be fine once we start moving," Alicia kept turning around and telling her, yet they'd been walking for a good few minutes and Bianca still couldn't feel her toes or move her fingers. George offered several times to give her his coat but Bianca told him over and over that then he'd be freezing too and that'd be even less help. Fred had suggested that Bianca fetch a piggy-back ride on his back so she wouldn't have to walk in the snow but Bea said that then she'd be colder because she wasn't moving. She did, however, gratefully accept Angelina's hot chocolate as her own had been left at the top of the hill.

As it turned out, Hogsmeade was further way than Bianca had anticipated so in the end, she did result to jumping onto Fred's back and letting him carry her the last tiny bit as her legs were starting to wobble again and she was beginning to trip up. Not that she'd admit it to anyone, but Bianca had never felt so cold in her life. In all the chaos, she hadn't stopped to dry her clothes off, so her soaked jumper clung tightly to her skin. She'd taken off her gloves and scarf because they were so uncomfortable and wet so now her hands and neck were vulnerable to the icy winds.

When the group reached the main street of Hogsmeade, Fred placed Bianca carefully down on the ground again, allowing her to slip her arm through his for support.

"Right," Lee said, rubbing his hands together, "Where to first?"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Well it's been a while, I'm very sorry. I'm still having huge issues with my laptop and for at least two weeks, it stopped letting me access the internet. I'm working on uploading more, sorry again.

Chapter 12

After what some may call excessive amounts of shopping in the village, the six headed to the Three Broomsticks for a hot drink with stomachs rumbling. Bianca, Angelina and Alicia headed to get a table in the far corner while the boys ordered the all some butterbeers. Everyone was exhausted from their hectic so a nice sit-down and a warm drink in the shabby pub was more than welcome.

"I think we have enough pranking supplies to last us a lifetime!" George exclaimed happily as he returned to the table with Fred and Lee.

"And yet next time we come you'll still be buying more," Alicia joked.

"You can never have too many dungbombs," said Fred as he took a seat between Lee and Angelina, "It's always good to have backup."

"And backup for your backup," added George, "Just in case."

"Because heaven forbid Fred and George Weasley running out of dungbombs," Angie laughed.

George pretended to shiver in horror, "What an awful day that would be."

"Who's staying over the holidays?" Fred asked suddenly.

"I'm not," said Lee, "My mum says she wants me home this year. She's upset I stayed at school last year."

"I'm going on holiday to spend it with family abroad," Angelina said.

"What about you, Alicia?"

"I'm not sure yet. I was going to stay but if it's just going to you three still here, I might go."

"That's just rude," Fred said, offended, "We've done nothing to you."

"I'm just making sure I don't find myself top of your victims list over the Christmas holidays. I want to enjoy myself."

"Victims?" George repeated, "I don't' know about you Fred, but I prefer the word 'participants'. It's not like we torture anyone."

"We aren't bullies," said Fred, "You know we do it to make people laugh."

"I'm just saying that not everyone enjoys having pink hair for a week," Alicia defended. She turned to Bianca, "Sorry Bea, but I think you'll have the dorm to yourself this holiday."

Bianca gave her a look that said 'I don't blame you' and took a sip of her butterbeer. She was enjoying sitting with her friends and wrapping her frozen icicles of fingers around her warm mug. Very slowly, she was beginning to regain feeling in her body, even if she was a bit shaky.

There was something truly haunting about being completely surrounded by snow, not knowing which was up or if there was even a way out. The melted ice dripping down her back then freezing on her spine, her breath solidifying in front of her very eyes, the fear that if she moved just an inch, an avalanche would bury her deeper. To her, sitting in the cosy pub with a fire blazing beside them, it still felt as though she was trapped by the cold. There was not blood but snow running through her veins and every inch of her body was shivering still.

Nevertheless, she enjoyed the rest of her day out in Hogsmeade and returned a few hours later to happily sink into an oversized armchair next to the fire in the common room. She munched on a few sweets (some of which she later regretted trying) and brainstormed with Fred and George for ideas about their ideal future shop; the boys were very excitable after visiting Zonko's. But still, she sat with her legs huddled up to her chest as protection from a non-existent cold. She'd already started coughing, sneezing and sniffling much to her annoyance and when the twins noticed, they shared a guilty glance and once again started firing apologies at her.

"I've already told you I'm fine," Bea said, "The worst I'm going to get is a cold."

"What if you get that thing muggles get pretty much every time they step out the front door in winter? What's it called again? Hyper-thermometer?"

Angelina snorted, "You mean hypothermia? Bea won't get hypothermia, she was only buried for a few seconds. It's just a cold like she said."

"But you're freezing!"

"We're all freezing, Fred, that's what happens when it snows," Bianca brushed him off, "Now what were you saying about those sweets?"

A few days later when most of the school had returned home for the holidays, Bianca, Fred and George were exploring the castle. George was holding the Marauder's Map and leading them about the castle. Every so often they'd come across a corridor that looked new to them, but they'd soon realise it was a trick one, or that they'd just never approached it from that direction before. They searched and explored all day, hoping to find something new, when they ended up on the third-floor corridor.

"Isn't this the corridor Dumbledore warned us not to go to?" George asked excitedly, "Everyone else is miles away, why don't we have a look around?"

"Didn't he say we could get killed too, though?" Bianca asked, following the twins who were already headed down towards an old looking door.

"He was probably just joking," Fred said, "You know what he's like. And nothing puts people off doing something like a good old death threat."

"Exactly," George agreed, "Whatever's up here is probably harmless. Besides, when have you ever been put off by death threats? We visit the Forbidden forest at least once a week and you still come, despite our countless visits to see Madam Pomfrey."

"I'd never let you two go off to the forest by yourselves. You wouldn't come back!"

"We're perfectly capable of looking after ourselves!" Fred protested, "We're not stupid enough to get killed. At least not in the Forbidden Forest, anyway."

"I didn't say you'd get killed," Bianca said, "You'd probably join the centaurs pack by riding on each other's backs or something equally stupid."

"Given the choice," George said thoughtfully, "I'd rather be a unicorn. Anyway, I don't see the fuss over this corridor, there's nothing here!"

The three had been opening every door they passed, peeking inside just to be met with an empty classroom. Finally, however, they reached the end of the corridor and one, large old door towered before them. It was basically screaming at them to turn and go back which, of course, meant that Fred reached out and twisted the doorknob. The door didn't budge, it just clicked at him as the lock prevented the door from opening.

The three tried and tried, kicking and punching at the frame until they were stopped by a horrible noise. At first, Bianca thought they'd been caught by Filch, as a low grunt sounded. But that low grunt was joined by a growl, and that growl was joined by an animal's horrible sneer. And the sound of the grunt and the growl and the sneer was getting gradually closer and closer. Suddenly, George jumped back into Bianca who retreated and stood on Fred's foot accidentally. Something was hitting the door from the other side. There was a patter, then a scratch, then a patter and a scratch. Patter, scratch, patter, scratch, getting more and more violent.

Bianca was sure that whatever was behind that door would soon break free, so she grabbed the twins by their sleeves and dragged them back along the corridor and out into the main part of the school. She hauled the boys all the way back to the common room where she pushed them into a chair and forced their mind off the strange noise by initiating a wizard's chess tournament with Harry and Ron.

Unsurprisingly, Ron won and ran about the common room bloating for a while. Sick of his brother's big head, Fred challenged Ron to another game which he did manage to win, but Bianca suspected some cheating was involved.

"You can't cheat at wizard's chess!" Fred exclaimed, seeing the disapproving look on Bianca's face.

Bea raised her hands in an 'I never said you cheated' manner and shrugged.

Harry looked up from the game he was playing with George, "Bianca?" he said quietly, "Is it just me you don't speak to?"

Ron snorted, "Don't take it personally, Harry, mate. For years she only spoke to Fred and George. Still hasn't blessed me with a conversation. And I've known her pretty much all my life."

"Awh Ronniekins," Fred said in fake sympathy, "Don't get upset. Bea's just good at judging who she can trust."

"Who she can trust?" Harry repeated in clear confusion, "I thought you were siblings?"

"Ron!" George exclaimed, "Have you not explained any of this? Honestly, useless you are."

"Is Bianca not your sister?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly. Dad found her on his way back from work when we were one completely abandoned next to a river. He brought her home, reported it to the Ministry, but no one came to find her so they sort of just kept her. That's why she doesn't have our surname," Fred explained.

"Growing up not knowing who she was, meant Bea didn't know who to trust. When she was really little she'd only talk to me and Fred, then gradually she opened up to mum, then dad, then Bill and Charlie. That was it until we started school. Clearly, she just thinks that Ron's unreliable," George continued.

Bianca frowned and smacked George, shaking her head.

"So you don't talk to me because you don't trust me?" Harry asked.

"She doesn't know you mate," Fred said, "Like Ronniekins said, don't take it personally."

"I still don't get why she talks to you," Ron said, annoyed, "Anyone in their right mind could see you two aren't trustworthy or reliable."

"We're her guardian angels," Fred said, "We just like to keep things entertaining along the way. What's life if it's not exciting, eh?"

"I wouldn't call going into the Forbidden Forest at least once a week 'exciting'. More like a death wish."

"Rubbish," George scoffed, "The forest is brilliant. We're actually becoming quite good friends with the centaurs." He winked at Bianca, who sniggered quietly.

"Now, in case you'd forgotten, it's Christmas Eve Eve and we have important festive business to attend to."

Since Bianca was all alone in her dormitory and Fred and George the only ones in theirs, the three often snuck downstairs to the common room late at night to sleep on the sofas with the fire crackling. They did this every night leading up to Christmas, sitting together and chatting, usually having a pillow fight, before curling up under a blanket to sleep. It reminded them of Christmases at the Burrow when they were little. Every year, they'd sneak downstairs on Christmas Eve, planning to stay up all night only to find themselves waking up snuggled up in bed the next morning.

As usual, they hadn't bought presents for each other as they didn't feel the need, but had tried to send a gift from Hogsmeade to everyone else in their family as well as Lee, Angie and Alicia for Christmas. Once they'd opened their presents, they returned quickly to their dorms to get changed and pull on their Weasley jumpers before returning to the common room to find Ron and Harry there.

"Merry Christmas!" Fred yelled loudly at the younger boys as he bounded into the common room.

"Hey look," said George, "Harry's got a Weasley jumper too!"

"Harry's is better than ours though," Fred said, "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family. Look at Bianca, hers is always better."

"Bianca _is_ family, idiot," George said, "Anyway, why aren't you wearing yours, Ron? Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."

Ron murmured something about the colour maroon while George inspected everyone else's jumpers.

"You haven't got a letter on yours," he said, "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid- we know we're called Gred and Forge."

After the largest Christmas dinner Bianca had ever had, she and the twins challenged Ron, Harry and Percy to a snowball fight which naturally, they won before they all returned to the common room to huddle close to the fire to warm up and dry off. Bianca happily watched Ron play wizard's chess against Harry and Percy.

At dinner, Fred and George somehow managed to steal Percy's prefect badge and they were all back in the common room once more before he even noticed.

"Now I'm not stupid, you know!" Percy yelled, "I know you did it to Charlie once, give it back!"

Percy ran all around Gryffindor tower, trying to catch Fred and George who were tossing what looked like a prefect's badge between them. No one decided to tell Percy that that particular badge was fake and that Bianca was sitting next to Harry, laughing and wearing the real one.

But while Christmas at Hogwarts had certainly been memorable, Bea couldn't help but think that nothing could beat a proper family Christmas at the Burrow.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Gryffindor Quidditch team had never been so wet and cold. Wood had them practising practically every evening for their upcoming match against Hufflepuff.

One particularly miserable evening, Fred and George had come up with the brilliant idea to dive-bomb Bianca, pull up at the last second and then pretend to fall off their brooms. Bianca had learned to ignore them and didn't even flinch as George narrowly missed whacking her in the face with the end of his broom. This sent Wood off on a long rant at them about needing to concentrate.

"Will you stop messing around! That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time ad he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George made a strange gagging sound from above Bianca and fell off his broom. Fred snorted and laughed at his twin who lay sprawled on the ground, covered in mud.

"Snape's refereeing?" George spat out some mud in disgust.

The entire team was in uproar and Wood tried desperately to calm his housemates down. He told them Snape would have no reason to penalise them. George, who was so shocked he hadn't even managed to get off the muddy ground, was finding himself slowly sinking into the saturated field. Fred flew down and grabbed hold of George's yank him up onto his feet.

"Come on," he said, "Let's go in before we freeze."

The team all retired to the changing rooms to clean up and dry off; it was getting late and they were all wet, muddy and cold.

"Surely Snape can't favour Hufflepuff too much," Fred said thoughtfully, "I mean, he thinks they're a bunch of wusses!"

"Yeah but he doesn't hate them like he hates Harry," George said, "But you never know, if he's too biased he might just find a bludger coming towards him."

"You can't attack a teacher," Alicia said from across the room, "That'll just make him hate us even more."

"He can't hate us even more than he already does," Fred argued, "Besides, if we just hit him hard enough to mean Madame Hooch has to take over, but no so hard that it kills him, we can easily pass it off as an accident."

"Have fun passing potions after causing an 'accident' like that," Angelina said, "He'll be dishing out detentions and punishments every few seconds."

"Oh that'll be a nice change," George said sarcastically, "Oh wait."

"All of you stop," Wood ordered as he picked up his broom to return it to the shed, "Fred, George, neither of you will be sending any bludgers anywhere except away from our players-"

"What if that means it just happens to go towards Sn-" George started.

"No," Wood snapped, "We'll play fairly and quickly so the match is over before Snape can do anything against us. Ok?"

Fred and George nodded glumly before following Bianca out of the changing rooms and back to the castle.

On their way back to the common room, the three passed a classroom which had voices seeping through the slightly open door. One voice was raspy and hoarse while the other seemed rather familiar.

"That sounds like Quirrell," Fred whispered, "But he isn't stuttering."

"Who's he talking to?" George asked quietly."

The friends crept silently towards the door and peeked cautiously into the room to see Professor Quirrell carefully replacing his turban.

"I can't see anyone else," George said.

"Neither can I," Fred seconded, "But he's still talking."

That much was true. Their curious Professor stood muttering quietly, seemingly to himself.

"Yes, My Lord, soon. Of course, My Lord, both of them. I'll be careful. I have located it, yes, I'm just waiting for the right time."

They couldn't hear what the raspy voice was saying in reply, instead only making out the occasional hiss.

"She's where?" Quirrell suddenly exclaimed in alarm, "Outside the door, sure you sure My Lord."

The voice was louder now as it responded dangerously, "Do you doubt me, Quirrell?"

"Of course not, My Lord, never."

Bianca grabbed Fred and George and mouthed, 'footsteps' before backing away slowly.

"I shall deal with her soon My Lord I swear it," Quirrell's voice was getting louder as he crossed the classroom towards the door, "Need she know the truth?"

"Quiet, Quirrell, we'll be heard."

Fred, George and Bianca were halfway down the corridor now, walking as fast as they dared without looking suspicious when, "Weasley! Weasley!"

All three stopped and turned to face Quirrell, panic rising inside them, "Yes, sir?" Fred replied politely.

"W-w-what are you three d-doing out here?"

"We're just coming back from Quidditch practice, sir," George said easily.

"If I am n-not mis-mistaken, the Gryffindor common room is t-th-that way," Quirrell pointed down the corridor.

"We were just stopping off at the Hospital Wing," Fred lied quickly and their professor raised an eyebrow, "George here fell off his broom and landed in the mud and it seems he came out with a horrible cold, isn't that right, Georgie?"

George sneezed in response and sniffled, "We're just going for a pepper-up potion."

"Well, g-go quickly and then g-g-get to bed."

"Thank you, sir," Fred said, "Goodnight." When they were out of ear-shot, he continued, "You were right, Bea, there's definitely something wrong with him."

"But who was he talking to?" Bianca asked, "And what about?"

"It sounded to me like they were talking about you, Bea," George said seriously, "The way he said 'she's outside the door' unless I'm mistaken you were the only 'she' outside the door."

"We can check the map!" Bea said suddenly, "Maybe whoever Quirrell was talking to is still in the castle."

The three set off towards the common room as fast as they could, desperate to discover who the mysterious visitor was. Fred ran up to his dormitory to retrieve the map and returned to George and Bianca in the corner of the common room.

George sniffled and touched his wand to the map, "I solemnly swear that I… ah…achoo!"

Fred looked at him, "You don't have to keep up the act, we're nowhere near Quirrell anymore."

"Sorry, must have been dust," George shrugged, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The ink seemed to take years to seep onto the page but when finally it was done, Fred threw open the map to the classroom they'd found Professor Quirrell in. It was empty.

George pointed to where the teacher's footsteps were in the corridor, heading back to his office.

"He's alone," Fred said, disappointed. He scanned the map quickly, "There's no one except Filch in the corridors."

"That doesn't make sense," Bianca said quietly, "There's no way anyone could have got out the castle so quickly! All the passages are on the other side of the school."

"Look," George interrupted with a sniff, "Quirrell's on the third floor."

"What's he doing there?"

They watched for a while as Quirrell stood in a small room before he turned and left again, making his way back through the castle.

"Bianca!" Angelina was calling from across the common room, "Are you coming up to bed?"

Bianca nodded and stood up. She hugged Fred and George who sniffed loudly in her ear and wished her goodnight before running to Angie and Alicia.

The match against Hufflepuff was looming ever nearer and as if that didn't worry Bianca enough, her Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons had become almost unbearably uncomfortable. George had developed an awful cold from his fall during training and refused to get up to come to lessons for a few days. This left Fred and Bianca to deal with Quirrell alone and the fact their teacher was trying everything he could to be left alone with Bea was more than unnerving.

"Should we speak to McGonagall?" Fred asked her on their way back to the common room after just avoiding Quirrell's request for Bianca to help him tidy away books. Fred had reminded her teacher politely that he was a wizard so could easily do it alone and ushered Bea out the door.

"And tell her how we eavesdropped on a teacher and heard him talking to himself? She'll think we've gone mad," Bianca sighed.

"George will back us up!" Fred said.

"George can barely form a sentence without sneezing, coughing or losing his voice at least twice."

"Still," Fred said, "He's being a creep. No teacher is _that_ desperate to speak to a student alone. It's not normal."

The pair climbed through the portrait hole, dumped their bags next to their usual table in the corner and began work on an essay which was due tomorrow. Every so often, Fred would lean across and look at Bianca's just to check he was on track. After an hour or so of work, Fred got to his feet and picked up a pile of books and paper, "I better go and give this to Georgie."

"I'm sure he'll be delighted," Bianca smirked. Like the good brother that he was, Fred had been collecting work from every lesson for George to do as punishment for him ditching them.

"I'll meet you back down here in half an hour for Quidditch, yeah?" Fred proposed as he headed towards the boy's dormitories.

Bianca nodded and returned to her Charms essay.

Hundreds of thoughts were running continuously through her mind about their peculiar teacher. Who was he talking to in that classroom and where had they gone afterwards? What had Quirrell located and who was he planning to 'deal with'. Bea and the twins had assumed the creepy pair were talking about her, but who else, and what had they done? More importantly, why was Quirrell so determined to get Bianca alone? Surely he'd realised by now that she didn't speak, so really there was nothing they could discuss. It was all so curious, first him and the troll at Halloween when he had a huge ring of keys, then his strange obsession with Bianca and Harry, then his discussion with the invisible, disappearing stranger, and the occasional slip of his stutter. Bea had come to the conclusion that was more to her teacher than meets the eye.

Before she knew, it was time Quidditch practice, and Fred was coming down the stairs toward her, followed by a red-nosed George. Bianca shot the twins a look which Fred interpreted and replied to. "He says he wants as much Quidditch as he can get so he knows for sure we'll beat Hufflepuff at the weekend." Bianca frowned and Fred continued, "That's exactly what I said. I asked him, why don't you go to Madam Pomfrey? She'll fix you up in two seconds, I said. And he said-"

"I'd have to go to lessons," George's voice was croaky and dry.

"So you'll risk becoming seriously ill by training for hours at night in the cold but won't face five lessons?"

"Lessons require brain power," George said, shrugging, "Quidditch is," he coughed, "Second nature."

"Well we won't be catching you if you sneeze so hard you fall off your broom," Fred said with a smirk.

George sniffed, "Come on, let's go."

They returned to the common room very late that night soaked to the bone and fingers frozen into grips. Wood had worked them extra hard and extra long seeing as it was their last training session before the match in a few days and had refused to let anyone finish early. The team collapsed on the sofa beside the fire.

"I'd quite happily sit in that fire if it meant I could feel warm and dry again," Fred said tiredly, "Is there a spell that makes you fireproof?"

"If there is, I doubt anyone here would teach you it," Angelina said, "Think of the trouble you two could cause if you were fireproof. We'd all be doomed."

"We're not that stupid," George tried to say, but his blocked nose made it unintelligible. Needless to say, Oliver's extensive training had done nothing to help George's cold and now he just seemed worse than before. "Urgh," he groaned, "I said, we're not that stupid."

"Shut up, George," Fred said, "No one understands you."

"I'll sneeze on you," George threatened.

"You wouldn't dare," Fred replied.

"Oh that you heard!"

"What was that?" Fred asked, putting a hand to his ear, "Sorry, brother dear, no one here speaks that language of croaky voice."

George stuck his tongue out at his brother as Wood said, "You better have lost that cold by Saturday, George. We need a full team if we're going to stand a chance."

"Don't worry, Oliver," Fred said, "I'll cope if George drowns in his own snot before the game."

"Ew, that's disgusting, Fred!" Alicia said and Bea smacked him.

George sneezed and hauled himself to his feet, "I'm going to bed," he spluttered and left.

When Saturday finally arrived, George's cold had mostly cleared and he insisted he was well enough to play. Fred supported this by saying that he was the better beater anyway and they'd be fine.

The Gryffindor team was waiting nervously in the changing rooms before the match. Fred peeked out onto the field, "The whole school's out there! Even- blimey- Dumbledore's come to watch!"

The rest of the team hurried over to the exit and followed Fred's pointed finger. There was the headmaster, sitting amongst the rest of the staff. This seemed to put everyone's mind at ease; Snape couldn't be too unfair if Dumbledore was watching.

A few minutes into the match, George decided to test this theory by sending a bludger towards the potions master. Naturally, this earned Hufflepuff a penalty shot and earned George a severe yelling at from Wood.

"I thought I told you not to do that!"

"Sorry Oliver," George replied, "Won't happen again."

As usual, Angelina, Alicia and Bianca were a near unstoppable team as they zipped up and down the pitch, scoring goals and intercepting passes. Unfortunately, however, Snape was in a bad mood and soon awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason whatsoever. Thankfully, Wood was ready and easily blocked it. Gryffindor was leading but Snape was becoming more and more agitated and strict.

To Gryffindor's great relief, not even minutes later, Harry Potter was hovering mid-air with the snitch grasped tightly in his hand. The team were quick to swarm him and congratulated him happily as they returned to the ground to be met with the rest of their house on the pitch. Oliver looked close to tears as he clapped Harry on the back proudly.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The weeks leading up to the end of term were fairly normal for Bianca and the twins. Professor Quirrell was getting gradually thinner and paler but he had given up any obvious attempts to see Bianca. Bea even found she had time to go down and visit Hagrid a few times. Needless to say, she was quite shocked when one evening instead of being met by Fang, she was greeted by a small dragon by the name of Norbert.

"Merlin's beard, Hagrid!" she exclaimed, "Where did you get it?"

Hagrid briefly explained to her that he was given the egg in a pub one night.

"Hagrid, your house," Bea said, "It's wooden!"

"I know," Hagrid said glumly, "'Arry, Ron and Hermione have arranged it so little Norbert can go off ter Romania with Charlie."

"He'll be safe there, Hagrid," Bea said encouragingly, "Charlie will look after him."

"I wish I had more time," the giant said sadly, "He's off on Saturday."

"Hagrid," Bea said, sipping from her tea, "How will Norbert get to Romania?" she winced as the dragon coughed and sent a small streak of fire in her direction.

"Charlie's sending some of 'is friends over to collect him. Couldn't come 'imself though. Shame that, I'd 'ave liked to hear about how he's getting on."

"Every time he writes, he says he loves it," Bianca said and told Hagrid all about how her brother was getting on.

They chatted for a while before Hagrid realised how late it was getting and he walked her back up to the castle. He said he was glad Charlie had such nice sibling before wishing her goodnight sadly. Apparently his thoughts had returned to Norbert.

A few weeks later, Bianca came downstairs to the common room in the morning to find Fred and George arguing with Percy.

"Come on, Perce, lighten up, it's just a joke," Fred was saying.

"Don't be ridiculous," Percy replied sharply, "This is a serious matter. Besides, what on earth would he think?"

"He'd find it funny, Perce," George sighed, "Because unlike you, he has a sense of humour."

"Rubbish," Percy snapped and stalked away.

Bianca looked at the twins curiously.

"Morning, Bea!" Fred said cheerfully.

"What was that about?" Bianca asked on the way down to breakfast.

"Fred and I think it would be a brilliant idea to send our dear friend Harry a little get well soon present," George said.

"He's ill?"

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Fred asked, "Last night, Ron, Harry and Hermione went on a little adventure. No one's really too sure what happened, but it was something to do with a 'Philosopher's Stone'. Apparently, Harry had this huge fight with Quirrell over it!"

"Quirrell?"

"Yeah, we know why he was acting so creepy now," George said, "He had You-Know-Who on the back of his head! He was possessed or something and wanted to get the stone so You-Know-Who could come back, but our dear little brother and his pals were into him and stopped him from getting to it."

"Which is why," Fred said with a smirk, "We thought we could send Harry a toilet seat."

Bianca snorted, "Of course you did. But let me guess, Percy overheard you?"

"Indeed he did, the prat."

"He's not going to stop us, though," George said, "We just need to find a toilet seat."

"You're crazy if you think Madam Pomfrey will let you anywhere near the Hospital Wing with a toilet seat," Bianca laughed.

"While I admire your determination and wit," a voice said from behind them, "I must say I agree with Miss Bianca."

The group turned to see none other than Professor Dumbledore standing behind them. Fred and George smirked, "Is that a challenge, sir?" Fred asked jokingly.

Dumbledore nodded, "I must say I'd love to hear how far you get, it would certainly provide some amusement to my day. I wondered if I might have a quick word with Bianca."

Fred and George looked at Bea, "But sir," George said politely, "Bianca doesn't spea-"

"It's alright," Bea said quietly with a small laugh, "I think I can trust the headmaster of the safest place on earth."

"I am honoured," Dumbledore winked and turned to Fred and George, "I won't keep her long, I suggest you boys go to breakfast, there's some rather delicious French toast on offer which I'd hate for you to miss out on. Let me know how you get on with the toilet seat."

Fred and George chuckled and turned, "See you soon, Bea."

"I was wondering, how much you know of what happened last night," Dumbledore said.

"Only what Fred and George just told me," Bianca replied honestly.

"I see," Dumbledore seemed to consider this for a while, "It has come to my attention that Professor Quirrell's attempt to steal the Philosopher's Stone was not his only reason for being here. Naturally with Lord Voldemort living on the back of his head, Quirrell was an enemy of poor Mr Potter, but it seems he also had reason to hate you."

"Me? Why?" Honestly, Bianca wasn't all that surprised, but she didn't' want to explain to Dumbledore about the conversation she'd heard with the twins.

"I am not sure. I came to warn you to be careful. I will tell the same to Harry soon, but I do not know why Quirrell was after you," Dumbledore said slowly, "For now, however, I highly suggest you try some French toast, it really was delicious. Perhaps I shall walk you to breakfast and grab myself another slice."

The curious pair turned to head to the Great Hall, Bianca feeling more than confused.

"Sir," she asked, but Dumbledore interrupted her.

"I know you have many questions, Bianca, but I have told you all I know. I have no more answers."

"Actually, I was going to ask if Harry was alright," Bea said sheepishly.

The old headmaster chuckled, "I was just on my way up to find that out when I stopped to speak to you. I have a feeling he will recover quickly. Would you like me to send him your best wishes?"

"Only if you can send him a toilet seat at the same time," Bianca laughed.

By now, they had reached the Great Hall and were heading towards the Gryffindor table so Bianca could join Fred and George. Dumbledore reached over and grabbed a slice of the French toast and, while he was still chewing, said, "I believe a trip to the kitchens is in order." Bianca and the twins looked at him in confusion, "I'm afraid I desperately need a recipe for this."

And with that, he grabbed yet another slice of French toast and left. The twins immediately looked at Bianca but she sent him a look that they knew all too well- 'Not here, too many people'. That was the look Bianca would give when she needed to tell them something but didn't trust the people around her. In this case, Fred and George presumed that it wasn't the amount of people in the hall with them, but the risk of being overheard by anyone.

So instead, the trio finished their breakfast quickly and headed to the boy's bathroom from which the twins planned to steal a toilet seat for Harry.

"So?" George said when they were out of earshot of anyone.

Bianca briefly explained what it was she'd discussed with Dumbledore and Fred and George stared at her in shock.

"But that doesn't make sense!" Fred said when she'd finished, "You've never done anything to anyone. Why would anyone be after you and not us? Unless…"

"My parents," Bianca said quietly.

"Hey, you could be Harry's sister!" George said.

"Are you joking?" Fred asked, "There are many things wrong with that idea, Georgie."

"Oh yeah?" George challenged, "Like what?"

"First off, why would Harry's parents abandon their daughter and then have another child? Second, someone, somewhere would know about Bea. Third, there'd be records. Fourth, they don't look anything alike."

"So? You and I don't look alike and we're still siblings," George joked. Fred raised an eyebrow and George continued in defeat, "Ok, I get it, it was just a suggestion."

Half an hour later, two identical red-headed twins were running away from the hospital wing while being chased by an angry Madam Pomfrey who was brandishing a toilet seat. It was an interesting sight for the headmaster of the school to see as he happily returned to his office with a recipe for French toast scribbled on a piece of parchment.

The final Quidditch match of the year was an interesting one. Without a seeker, Gryffindor didn't stand much of a chance against Ravenclaw, but they certainly put up a good fight. Both teams scored a fair few goals and Wood was on top of blocking oncoming quaffles from the Ravenclaw team but for Gryffindor to even have the smallest chance, they'd need to be 150 points ahead. Of course, the team was upset, but they couldn't blame Harry for being unconscious in a hospital wing.

A few days later, the entire school was gathered in the Great Hall for the end of year feast. Unfortunately, it was decorated in green and silver to celebrate Slytherin winning the house cup and the whole hall fell quiet when Harry came in. Bianca gave him an encouraging smile.

Soon, Dumbledore was addressing the school as he usually did at the end of the year. Regretfully, the houses all cheered for Slytherin when their victory was announced. The tables were turned, however, when Dumbledore began dishing out extra points to certain students. With Hermione and Ron each earning 50 and Harry getting 60, Gryffindor found themselves tied with Slytherin with an excited buzz hung in the air.

Dumbledore raised a hand to bring silence and smiled, "There are all kinds of courage," he said, "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. Therefore, I award ten points to Mr Neville Longbottom."

Three tables exploded in celebration. Neville looked in shock- he'd never earned any points for Gryffindor before and no he'd earned them the house cup! Soon enough, scarlet and gold banners hung in place of the green and silver ones.

Not long later, hundreds of students were swarming Hogsmeade station to board the Hogwarts Express home. Harry had thanked the twins for their attempt to send him a toilet seat with a grin on his face and explained that Dumbledore had told him about it when they asked him how he knew. Fred and George were complaining about the notes every child had dutifully been given to remind them not to use magic during the holidays.

"I don't see why you're so annoyed," Alicia said as they took their seats in a compartment, "You get them every year."

Bianca wasn't listening to her friend's discussion. Instead, she was desperately trying to figure out why Quirrell had been after her. She knew overthinking it would eventually drive her crazy, but not knowing was almost just as bad. She'd never done anything to offend or hurt anyone; after all, how could she when there were only about twelve people on the planet who had ever heard her speak? Therefore, unless Dumbledore was wrong which she highly doubted, it must be something to do with her parents. There was no other explanation! So she was stuck. Bianca knew nothing of her parents. Not their names, not who they were or what they did. Not even if they're alive. Mrs and Mrs Weasley were the only parents she'd ever known and she was perfectly happy with that.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Well it's been a while hehe. I don't know if anyone is still interested in or was interested to begin with in this story but I'm back! My old laptop completely crashed and broke and I didn't get a new one until recently which obviously meant I couldn't upload. But thankfully this laptop actually works and so hopefully I should be able to start getting back to uploading! It won't be regular for a while probably but I'll try and write as much as I can when I have time. Sorry for the huuuuuuge break! Enjoy this boring filler chapter! ;D

Chapter 15

Bianca awoke early one morning in the holidays to find Fred and George's beds empty. She sighed, knowing exactly where they were. For a while now, they'd been planning Harry Potter's rescue with Ron, their younger brother. As usual, they refrained from telling Bea exactly when they'd carry out the operation so keep her out of trouble. The twins were strangely protective like that.

Not long after, Mrs Weasley poked her head around the door, clearly after already discovering the disappearance of Ron.

"Oh I thought they'd have something to do with it," she sighed, "Good morning, dear. I don't suppose you know where they are?"

Bianca shook her head. Technically, it wasn't a lie. She knew the twins would be on their way back, hopefully with Harry, but she did not know their precise location. Suddenly, something dawned on Mrs Weasley and she stormed out of the room, muttering about the car.

Bianca hauled herself out of bed, quickly tied her blonde hair back and followed her mum out of her bedroom. She stood in the doorway as Mrs Weasley marched across the yard to the garage and yanked the door open to discover, unsurprisingly, a car-shaped gap amongst the junk.

Bianca smirked as she looked up to see a small black dot in the sky gradually becoming larger and larger.

"Come on," she said to Mrs Weasley, "They won't be long, I'm sure. They'll want to be back early to keep out of trouble. I'll get breakfast started while we wait."

"Oh I'm glad Arthur found you all those years ago," Mrs Weasley said as they headed back to the Burrow, "I dread to think what those twins would be doing without you."

Bianca set a mug of tea on the table as she saw the black dot, now identifiable as a car, land in the yard and open its doors to allow three lanky red-heads and a small boy with black hair to get out. Mrs Weasley, obviously hearing the doors close, shot to her feet and headed angrily towards them. Bianca laughed to herself and leaned against the doorframe to watch. She saw the boys' faces fall as they spotted their mother. She just about lip read half the conversation they had quietly, counting down in her head ready for…

"Beds empty! No note! Car gone… could have crashed…out of my mind with worry-"

And so it went on. During Mrs Weasley's rant, Bianca caught Harry's eye, smiled and waved at him. He was looking rather uncomfortable as he watched his friends get shouted at but seemed relieved when he saw Bianca laughing. Fred looked at Bianca, glared at her and mouthed 'traitor' and she shrugged in return. George mimed an angel halo above his head and stuck his tongue out. Thankfully, Mrs Weasley failed to see this as otherwise her ranting would have doubled in length.

When Bea was sure the mug of previously steaming tea was cold (despite the warming charm which was on all the mugs in the house) and her legs were getting tired from standing and watching in the door, Fred and George finally appeared in the kitchen with their mum, Ron and Harry. As the boys took a seat at the table, Bianca jumped up onto the counter in the corner, ignoring Fred and George who were pulling offended faces at her. Mrs Weasley passed her a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs before piling Harry's plate high with food.

"Pass the chopping board, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked Bianca who reached behind her and retrieved the big wooden board and a bread knife.

Suddenly, Ginny emerged from the stairs, squeaked and ran off again and Bianca stifled a giggle.

"Ginny," Ron said, "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."

Fred smirked, "Yeah she'll be wanting your autograph, Harry."

Mrs Weasley turned and glared at him and the family continued eating in silence for a while. Every now and then, Ron, Fred or George would yawn or groan but Mrs Weasley was strict and sent them out to de-gnome the garden. Bianca and Harry helped for a while out of pity for the boys but Bea soon returned to the Burrow to help Mrs Weasley and Ginny in the kitchen

"Dad'll be back soon," Mrs Weasley said, "Would you mind putting the kettle on for him, Bea?"

When Mr Weasley appeared a few minutes later, the kettle was happily whistling and George could be heard yelling "He's back! Dad's home!" from the garden.

Realising that Harry would soon be joining them, Ginny hurriedly left the kitchen and ran upstairs. Bianca smirked and handed Mr Weasley a mug of tea and a plate of breakfast. He smiled at her gratefully and sighed. The boys filed in from the garden and listened to Mr Weasley explain about the night he'd had a work. It didn't take long for Mrs Weasley to change the subject to the adventures her sons had had over night and while Mr Weasley was obviously impressed, he was forced to join his wife in scolding Fred, George and Ron.

In the few days Harry was with the Weasleys, everything seemed to surprise him. He'd been warned of the ghoul in the attic but was shocked when Fred and George joined in with the racket coming from above to create what they called 'music'. This 'music' consisted of the ghoul banging pipes as percussion and Fred creating small explosions as backing for George who sang… or tried to. Harry even seemed astonished when Mr Weasley chose to sit next to him at meal times. The only reason anyone at the Dursley's would choose to be near him was if they were going to tease him or throw food at him.

One morning when Bianca and Percy were outside feeding and tending to the chickens in awkward silence, the family owl Errol flew into the house (literally as at first he collided with the wall) with a bunch of letters. Bea left Percy in the yard and joined Ginny, Harry, Ron, Mr and Mrs Weasley in the kitchen. Fred and George joined them a few minutes later yawning and still in their pyjamas. George took a seat next to Bianca and said tiredly, "If you weren't not our triplet, I'd wonder how you're related to us."

Bianca looked at him and Fred said while laughing, "You realise none of what just came out of your mouth made sense, Georgie?"

"It does. She gets up too early," George replied, looking at Bianca.

"Now that I agree with, but you basically just said 'I would wonder how you're related to us if you were actually related to us'."

"I know what I said," George said, "It made sense to me."

While the rest of the family read their Hogwarts letters, Percy marched in from the garden cheerily. He sat down in the only free seat, but shot back up again almost immediately. Bianca cringed as Percy held up their mangled owl which looked awfully similar to a living lump of grey feathers.

When it was decided that they'd go up to Diagon Alley the following Wednesday to meet Hermione, Fred, George, Bianca, Ron and Harry headed up to the small paddock on the hill to play some Quidditch.

"Dunno how mum and dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year. Six sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs wands and a robe and everything!"

It was times like that when Bianca felt slightly guilty. The Weasleys would be paying enough as it was to allow all their children to attend Hogwarts and her living with them just increased the amount they needed. Of course, whenever she voiced these concerns, she was told not to be silly as she was family and they couldn't have her living on the streets.

When it came to going to Diagon Alley the next week, Fred and George showed Harry to use Floo Powder and disappeared into the fireplace. As usual, Bianca hung back until last. Mr Weasley followed the twins and Harry went next, he choked slightly and ended up spitting out the words instead of stating them clearly. Bianca and Ron shared a worried look with Mrs Weasley as Percy strode to the fireplace and vanished.

"Ron, dear, off you go," Mrs Weasley said urgently.

Bianca stepped forward after Ron and found herself spinning quickly as she travelled, her insides churning unhappily. Bianca had never been a fan of travelling by Floo. She arrived with her family in the Leaky Cauldron. Much to her dismay, when she stood next to Fred and George to wait for Ginny and Mrs Weasley, she noticed a severe lack of Harry.

"He never came through," George told her worriedly, "We think he must have gone too far."

"Mum'll go mental," Fred said as Ginny joined them.

As Fred predicted, Mrs Weasley did go mental. She hurried all around Diagon Alley, desperately peering into every shop they passed and asking everyone they came across if they'd seen Harry.

"There!" Fred suddenly shouted, pointing up the street, "With Hagrid and Hermione!" he, George, Bianca, Ron, Percy and Mr Weasley took off towards Harry who thankfully looked safe with his friends.

"Harry," Mr Weasley breathed, mopping his brow, "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. Molly's frantic- she's coming now."

Fred and George's eyes lit up when Hagrid told them where he'd found Harry and Bianca could see the questions forming in their heads about Knockturn Alley.

As soon as they were let free, Fred, George and Bianca found Lee Jordan and headed straight to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop. Just like they did each time they entered a joke shop, Fred and George immediately began asking all sorts of questions on how they got the shop started and if they made their own products or bought them in from elsewhere. When satisfied they'd got enough information from the poor worker, the twins turned to inspect the Fireworks. Bianca sent the employee an apologetic look and headed to Fred and George. "I reckon we could make these," George said.

"Where are you gonna do that?" Lee asked, "You mum would kill you if you did it at home and you'd never get away with it at school."

"I didn't say we'd do it straight away," George said.

"Once we have our own shop, we can work on it on our own space and no one can tell us off for it," Fred said excitedly.

"You'll be in hospital within ten minutes of starting!"

"Is that a challenge because we could do it in five," Fred said.

George scoffed, "Five? Give us thirty seconds and an enclosed space."

Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Why do I feel like this isn't the first time you've-"

"Because it isn't," George said, "We've been to St Mungo's at least twenty times each and to the school Hospital Wing so many times we've lost track."

"And that's just from explosions!" Fred said, "Not to mention the fires, the sweets gone wrong, accidents while running away from being caught, the Forbidden forest, dangerous fumes- the whole family was in for that one- have I missed anything?"

"Don't forget the fake wands backfiring," George said, "That was a bad one."

"What happened?" Lee asked curiously.

"Well George and I were trying to create some fake wands and one of them started firing random spells at us really quickly."

"Real spells at that," Fred added.

George nodded, "We couldn't get out our room in time. The wardrobe fell on Fred, the beds combusted while Bianca was on one and I got thrown out the window."

"Mum wasn't impressed," Fred said, "she had to completely redo our bedroom and keep on track of visiting three different hospital rooms."

"It was worth it though," George said, "We discovered exactly what not to do when making fake wands. Also, human skin isn't fire proof so don't set fire to your bed."

Bianca shook her head and shivered, she hadn't trusted candles or lit fireplaces ever again. Three weeks in hospital with horrible scorch marks had led to an unshakable fear of uncontrolled fire that had haunted her since. She didn't mind huddling around the fireplace in winter because it was clearly enclosed and safe but she made a point of always avoiding campfires. They were out in the open and could easily set a whole field ablaze. Bianca was not a fan of that idea.

Lee and Bea followed Fred and George around Diagon Alley, picking up anything else that they needed for school before joining the rest of their family in Flourish and Blotts. They watched in disgust as Harry was taken to the front to have his photo taken with Gilderoy Lockhart who then announced he would be taking the post of Defence against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts much to the dismay of Bianca, Fred and George. While Mrs Weasley went to buy everyone's books, they children grouped in the corner where Harry was standing with Ginny and the snobbish Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, well- Arthur Weasley," a tall, cruel looking man who Bianca assumed must be Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy snarled. His eyes lingered on her, and he smirked knowingly at her with a horrible glint in his eye.

And then the fight broke out. Arthur Weasley threw himself at Malfoy in rage and books came falling down from high above as the pair wrestled back and forward.

The family left Diagon Alley a while later, Mr Weasley with a burst lip and everyone else either angry or embarrassed. They Flooed back to the Burrow in silence.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The night before they were due to return to school was as chaotic as usual. After a huge feast of Mrs Weasley's delicious cooking, Fred and George set up a fireworks display in the kitchen for everyone. Even Percy seemed to enjoy it as they sipped on their hot chocolates.  
The next morning, when everyone had finally stuffed as much as they possibly could into their trunks at the last minute and the family had all set off, already running late, they were only to be stopped multiple times as people had to run back for forgotten items. Bianca was squashed in the back of the car with the twins and sighed in disbelief when Ginny had to return for her diary; at this rate, they were definitely going to miss the train.  
Fortunately, after what seemed like an eternity, the group reached King's Cross and rushed through the crowds. Fred and George dragged Bianca through the barrier, quickly kissed their parents goodbye and hopped onto the train, just as the doors were sliding shut. They helped Ginny find someone to sit with before locating Lee, Alicia and Angelina in a compartment near the back of the train.  
They quickly got caught up on everything with their friends from the holidays until conversation landed on their new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor.  
"We won't learn anything!" Fred complained, "You heard him the other day, George, he didn't shut up about himself!"  
George nodded in agreement, "He's an arrogant nitwit."  
"George!" Angelina scolded, "I'm sure you'd have lots to say too if you'd done the things he has!"  
George gaped at her, "I have lots to say, Angelina, they just aren't all necessarily about myself, unlike a certain someone."  
"He's a hero! Have you even read his books? The amount of achievements that man has is incredible. I think we're lucky to have him."  
"Lucky?" Fred repeated in shock, "All we're going to learn this year is how to style our hair, have unnaturally white teeth and pose for photos. That's all Lockhart's capable of."  
"He's published loads of books!" Alicia argued.  
"I'm aware of that, I nearly broke my back carrying them all here!"  
"He's just experienced. I'm sure there's a lot we can learn from him. Besides, there has to be a reason Dumbledore hired him."  
"You know Dumbledore, he probably thinks it would be funny," George retorted, "He has a great sense of humour."  
"Watching students fail their classes isn't funny," Angelina said, "He wouldn't hire someone so incapable of teaching that nobody learnt anything."  
As it turned out, it seemed that the great Professor Dumbledore would, in fact, hire someone completely incapable of teaching. Fred, George, Lee and Bianca trudged out of his classroom, unimpressed and very much uneducated.  
"He was just getting warmed up to us," Alicia said, "I'm sure he'll teach us something valuable next lesson, it's just important to get to know your students first."  
"He didn't get to know us at all, though!" Fred argued, "He made us recite every tiny bit of his background and he doesn't even know our names! How in Merlin's name is the utterly pointless fact, 'Gilderoy Lockhart's favourite colour is lilac' going to help us at all when we have to do exams next year and are being asked about how to defend ourselves from dark magic?"  
"I told you he was-"  
"Getting to know us, yeah," Fred said, "But when will he actually know us well enough to teach us instead of boring us?"  
"Well I thought his lesson was good," Angelina said, "It was like he was gently easing us into it. Nice for a first day back, I think."  
"Delightful," George mumbled.  
But, a few weeks into the year, it appeared that Professor Lockhart was not going to get around to helping them for exams in any other way except reciting his old stories and accomplishments and giving them random, useless quizzes on his life. Fred and George would occasionally look across the room and raise their eyebrows at Alicia and Angelina who were still stubbornly backing their new teacher. Bianca sat silently between Lee and Fred, thoroughly fed up and not paying attention. As far as she was concerned, Professor Lockhart was all mouth and she doubted he could actually perform any of the spells he'd discussed so far this year. After all, not once had he removed his wand from his robe unless it was to pose in front of the class. He simply talked and smiled. There hadn't been even one second of teaching since the year began.  
On Halloween, Defence Against the Dark Arts was their last lesson so as the twins headed back to the common room with Lee and Bianca to drop their bags off before dinner, all they did was complain.  
"He's useless!" George cried, "He's spent more time holding a hairbrush than a wand."  
"Why would Dumbledore ever hire such a prat?" Lee asked in exasperation, "We've given him a chance, and he hasn't even given us anything to go away and learn! There's nothing in any of his books and we can't get anything out of the library because we don't even know what we're meant to be learning!"  
Fred and George looked at their friend in surprise.  
"Lee!" Fred gasped, "I never knew you cared so much about school!"  
"Just because I hang out with the two biggest idiots in the school, doesn't mean I'm stupid too."  
"I'm offended," George said, "I'll have you know we've never failed a class. And not once have we had a detention for not doing homework! We're not stupid, Lee, we just like to misbehave."  
"Yeah," Fred said, "There's no way you'd be able to start up a business if you were stupid. As long as we focus on charms, potions and transfiguration, we'll be able to make our own products!"  
"And what about the rest of the subjects?" Lee asked.  
"Not so important. Of course, we don't want to fail, but really, when are we ever going to use anything Binns has ever taught us?"  
Lee looked at them, "So you don't care, but you also care?"  
"We want to be role models, Lee," George explained, "If you try hard enough, you can achieve whatever you want to. We don't want to be seen as idiots with a joke shop. We'll be intelligent businessmen with a job that we love putting smiles on people's faces."  
Bianca smiled at the twins, she'd never seen the boys so eager and serious about something. If you knew Fred and George well enough, you'd know that they weren't about the mean side of pranking. All they wanted was to cheer people up not cause them harm. They hated seeing people sad or lonely, which is why they only ever pranked if people really deserved it or needed loosening up. In their opinion, life wasn't just about getting good grades and being successful if it meant you weren't happy. But education was important to them too; not everything was about joking. Fred and George Weasley had their hearts set on buying and running their own shop and Bianca knew them well enough to realise that they would work and work until they could achieve it.  
"But you've never revised in your life!" Lee said, shocked.  
"What can I say?" George pulled off a smile which would have challenged one of Lockhart's.  
"We're just naturally gifted," Fred agreed.  
Lee snorted, "Yeah right, just like Snape is naturally beautiful."  
"I personally think that if Snape were to come into Potions tomorrow with clean, braided hair and a lovely flowery dress, he would easily be the most beautiful person in Hogwarts," George seemed to consider this deeply.  
"I did not need that image in my brain," Lee said, covering his eyes as if Snape in a dress was really standing in front of him.  
"I think that if Dumbledore and Snape came into breakfast tomorrow with classy outfits and manicures that they'd easily snatch up all the boys in Hogwarts," Fred said.  
"Don't make it worse!" Lee cried, "Not Dumbledore too!"  
"Just imagine!" George said, grinning evilly, "A lovely pink mini skirt and a white blouse for Dumbledore and a pretty floral blue dress for Snape."  
"Maybe some nice high heels," Fred added, smirking so that Bianca knew this was payback for Lee doubting their abilities.  
"Don't forget stockings," she added giggling slightly, causing the twins to burst into laughter and Lee to cringe.  
"And matching handbags!" George said.  
"We could have a Hogwarts beauty pageant!"  
By this point, the group had reached the Great Hall and George said, "Well now if there's not a catwalk set up down the middle of the room, I'm going to be very disappointed."  
Lee's eyes widened and he clasped his hands together, desperately praying to be saved from the sight of his professors in a dress.  
Unfortunately for George but luckily for Lee, there was no fashion show set up for the Halloween feast, but this didn't dampen the twins' mood as they sat amongst their friends laughing and joking. Bianca knew that Lee had insulted their intelligence and the boys had been hurt by that, but they wouldn't hold it against him and would probably just end up working even harder to reach their dreams.  
Towards the end of the grand feast, when everyone was full to bursting with fabulous food, Bianca started to feel uneasy. She was sure she could hear a soft hissing, but it was lost in the sea of loud students. She shook her head and hit her ear to try and remove the sound, but still there was that noise, coming from the walls and moving past them. George looked at her curiously and mouthed 'Are you alright?' in concern.  
Bianca smiled and pulled off an encouraging smile, 'Fine,' she mouthed back. George didn't look fully convinced but nodded and turned back to his conversation with Angelina and Alicia. The snake-like sound had retreated now and was barely a soft whisper, but Bianca was still unnerved as she headed out of the hall a few minutes later.  
The mass of students headed through the Hogwarts halls, chatting contentedly with full bellies. But suddenly all that joy was removed and the corridors were instead filled with gasps and whisperings. Bianca couldn't see much over the top of people's heads, but the twins looked shocked, blinking in confusion and mouths agape. When she stood on her toes, steadying herself by holding onto George's shoulder, Bianca could just about see some words scribbled onto the stone walls in what looked like blood. She could just about hear Filch shouting about something and from what she could make out of the mumblings around her, whatever had occurred was pretty serious and involved Harry Potter. They watched with interest as the professors arrived and hurried them all away.  
Fred took Bianca's hand and ushered her to the side, following the crowds back to Gryffindor tower. George followed behind, every so often looking suspiciously over his shoulder. Bianca looked up at Fred, desperate to know what was going on, but he shook his head and promised to tell her when they were back in the common room safely.  
Bianca stopped abruptly when they reached the portrait, she wanted to be able to converse comfortably with the twins, and waited for the rest of their house to rush past them. Someone trampled on George's foot as they passed, causing him to dramatically dry out and grab onto his injured appendage, hopping on one leg.  
"I'm injured!" He cried out.  
Bianca raised an eyebrow at him and turned to Fred, "What happened? What did that message say?"  
Fred pushed George slightly so that he toppled over and landed on the floor, "Filch cat's been petrified or something it was hanging off the wall all stiff and hard and Harry, Ron and Hermione were all standing next to it."  
George stood up, glaring at Fred and rubbing his bottom, "Is that why you've never trusted Ron, Bea? Did you always know he was going to try and kill a cat?"  
"Somehow I doubt Ron was responsible," Bianca said.  
"Ah, of course, it was that miscreant Hermione Granger," Fred said knowledgeably, "Always causing trouble, that one."  
"You know what those three are like," Bianca sighed, "Always in the wrong place at the wrong time. But what did the message say?"  
"Something about the Chamber of Secrets?" Fred said, "It's been opened or something."  
"Chamber of Secrets? What's the Chamber of Secrets?"  
"No idea. Probably what Snape calls his bedroom."  
"Ew," Bianca shivered, "Gross."  
"But hang on," George said, "Why were you looking so uncomfortable at dinner?"  
"I thought I heard something," Bianca said sheepishly, it sounded stupid now, "Like a hissing. I guess I must have imagined it."  
"Maybe the school's leaking," Fred said thoughtfully.  
"Leaking what?" George asked, "Dead cats?"  
"Dead cat," Fred corrected, "Just the one," he paused, "For now."  
"Can something leak solid objects?" George asked.  
"It doesn't matter," Bianca said, "It was probably the pipes or something, they've got to be ancient."  
"What do you think happened to the cat then," Fred asked as they entered the common room.  
"I dunno, but if I was strolling through the corridors and stumbled across Ron, I'd be scared too," George said, "He really is a horrible sight."  
"He is related to you, remember," Bianca said quietly as they joined Lee, Angelina and Alicia in the corner.  
"That may be, but the only thing similar about us is his gorgeous ginger locks."  
"George, are you feeling alright?" Fred asked, brow creased in concern, "Nothing about our little brother is gorgeous except his two older brothers."  
Lee nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Percy and Charlie are pretty stunning."  
Fred and George glowered at him before changing the subject back to the mysterious goings-on of the second-floor corridor. They stayed there for a while chatting and making theories about what had happened. They decided that they'd probably be given some more information the next morning and, if not, the twins could just ask Ron, and turned in for the night, unaware of the true danger that lurked in the castle walls.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Ok so if I can keep up with the writing, I'm going to try for Wednesday and Sunday updates. Currently I'm writing two chapters ahead of where I'm publishing so hopefully I'll manage but that might waver with exams and such. I'll try not to forget ;D

Also my current plans are for Bianca to end up with one of the twins, can you please let me know if you think that'll be weird because of their sibling-like relationship? I'm debating it at the moment and don't know if it'll be weird or fine. It's been my plan since I started writing this and it occurred to me that it could be a bit odd. Please let me know, because I'll go ahead and do it unless too many people disagree. Thank you! Enjoy! :D

Chapter 17  
The Saturday night after the Gryffindor vs Slytherin Quidditch match, Bianca lay in bed with a horrible feeling in her stomach.  
She'd watched proudly from her broom as Fred and George continuously batted the bludger away from Harry, winced in sympathy as Harry got hit, beamed in celebration when he caught the snitch. She'd tried to help the twins wrestle the rogue ball into the case and sighed in exasperation when Lockhart vanished all Harry's bones. She looked across the field to where Angelina was dismounting her broom and raised her eyebrows.  
"He said it happens sometimes," her friend argued, "I'm sure we couldn't have done any better."  
"Yeah but Madame Pomfrey could have," George retorted.  
After a brief visit to see Harry, the team showered and headed back to the common room to await further news on their seeker. Wood was overjoyed at their victory despite Slytherin's superior brooms and didn't stop grinning until the team trudged upstairs late at night.  
But as Bianca was pulling on her pyjamas, she heard that strange hissing noise again, but as it got louder, she could make out creepy words, like "kill, I smell blood, so hungry, killll.." Bianca shivered and hurried to finish getting ready for bed. The noises continued for a few minutes, gradually getting louder then quitter again before fading completely. She tucked herself into bed and pulled the covers over her head, ignoring Angelina and Alicia as they returned from the bathroom. Bianca closed her eyes, desperately trying to remove those sounds which seemed to be repeating in her brain, playing on loop in her mind. What had she heard? Maybe it was the twins, playing a harmless prank, but they would never prank her, not like that. Deciding it must have been the wind outside mixed with her paranoia, she turned to face the ceiling, trying to take calming breaths.  
She didn't see her room-mates share confused looks and clamber into their beds. She didn't reply as they called goodnight. She didn't move for hours, trying to fall asleep and forget about what she'd heard. Why was she so unnerved by something which was probably just a leaky pipe? Hogwarts was an old building, surely these things happened regularly. She shouldn't be so on edge because of one sound- her school was said to be the safest place on Earth!  
But the next day, her fears deepened as word spread of a second 'attack' spread. She'd woken in the morning feeling as if she hadn't slept at all but plastered on a smile and gone to meet the twins in the common room. Throughout the day she'd started to make herself feel better until they caught ear of a rumour that there'd been a second attack at dinner. Bianca looked horrified and immediately stood up, grabbed the twins and dragged them out the hall. They ducked into an abandoned classroom.  
"What's got your wand in a knot?" George asked, "I didn't know you cared that much about Colin Creevey."  
Bianca sighed, "I don't." She quickly explained what had happened last night before she'd gone to bed and how it was just like what she heard on Halloween before Mrs Norris had been petrified.  
"So you knew something bad was going to happen last night?" George asked.  
"Not for sure. I tried to pass it off as a leaky pipe or the wind outside or something, like I did last time- but it can't be a coincidence, can it? I hear a weird hissing noise and then Mrs Norris is found petrified, and then I hear the same noise again and suddenly poor Colin's in the Hospital Wing!"  
"But why can no one else hear it?" Fred said, "You said Angie and Alicia didn't react?"  
"No, they seemed fine," Bianca insisted, "That's why I thought it was just the wind or something."  
"Maybe it was and we're all just overthinking it," George tried to be reassuring, "This place is literally magic, it could have been anything."  
"That's what's so worrying," Bianca muttered.  
"I'm sure it's fine," Fred said, wrapping Bea in a one-armed hug, "Now, if you ask me, I think our little sister needed some cheering up. I've seen Snape look more cheerful than Ginny did at dinner."  
And so, for the next few days, Bianca tried to forget about the strange whisperings and helped the twins in their ridiculous attempts to make Ginny feel better. Once or twice she had to tell them off for going a bit too far and she stood sheepishly off to the side as Percy yelled at them for giving their sister nightmares and threatened to write home.  
Just before he stalked off, he turned to Bianca and glared daggers at her before storming off. Bianca had tried to be more encouraging and kind to Ginny than Fred and George had. She'd tried to get her to talk but each time, her younger sister had just looked at her with scared eyes, hugged her diary to her chest and hurried away. She seemed to always be writing in that diary, pouring all her deepest emotions in it and sitting for hours scribbling away. It was a wonder she hadn't finished it yet because not once had it been replaced.  
A few weeks later, the school was full of notices advertising Professor Lockhart's new duelling club. The twins were very eager to go and see their teacher embarrass himself as they were certain he didn't know any proper duelling spells but Bianca decided to stay behind because she didn't like the amount of people that would be going. Instead, she took the cosiest corner of the common room and started work on the Charms essay she'd been set that day. It was nice having the common room mostly to herself and she found she managed to get a fair amount done in the peace and quiet.  
It wasn't too long later, however, when Harry, Ron and Hermione burst into the common room and rushed over to the far corner where they sat talking seriously in hushed voices. Bianca watched them for a while before getting up to go and locate Fred and George so she could find out what happened.  
She found them in the corridors not far from Gryffindor tower with Lee. They were chatting animatedly, all speaking over each other as they walked. They weren't looking where they were going so nearly ended up walking into Bianca who had stopped in front of them.  
"Careful," Fred said as they drew nearer and spotted Bianca, "Someone's left a small thing in the middle of the corridor, don't trip on it."  
"Oh that is a most inconvenient place to leave such a thing," George said, studying Bianca as if she were a precious object, "Anyone could step on it."  
"We best move it out the way," Fred decided.  
George nodded and together, the twins moved forward and picked Bianca up like a ladder. George wrapped his arms around her waist while Fred grabbed her legs so that she was suspended horizontally between them, her arms crossed and eyebrows raised. They turned around and marched off, Lee following behind smiling.  
The boys were heading down to the kitchens, and carried Bianca the whole way. They passed lots of Gryffindors who were making their way back to the common room and looked at them strangely. The twins just smiled and waved at them, continuing on their way without fault.  
When they reached the fruit bowl painting, Fred let go of Bianca's legs, leaving George to adjust her slightly so he didn't drop her.  
"Careful, Georgie," Fred chided, "That's very fragile, you know. We wouldn't want to break it."  
"Right you are, Freddie," George said, throwing Bianca over his shoulder so that her arms fell down his back ad he could hold onto her legs, "Package secured," he said, "Please proceed."  
Bianca rested her chin on her hand and her elbow on George's shoulder blade as Fred tickled the pear to allow them access to the kitchen. Bianca bounced around on George's back as he walked forward and ducked through the gap.  
Fred and Lee asked the house elves for some hot drinks while George placed Bianca on the floor. She still had her arms crossed as she looked at him, unimpressed.  
"Here, Fred?" George called, "This thing doesn't look nearly so pretty when it's upset. Do you think I damaged it?"  
Bianca raised an eyebrow and George reached out with one finger, trying to push it back down again.  
Fred came over, "Maybe. Why is that eyebrow so much higher than the other one? Shouldn't they be level?"  
George pretended to consider this, "Hmm, maybe we should draw her a new one where it's meant to be."  
Fred asked the nearest house elf for some melted chocolate which he then handed to George who dipped his finger in it and smeared it above Bianca's eye in what was vaguely an eyebrow shape. He tilted his head to the side like an artist admiring his work.  
"Fred," he said and his twin, who was licking the rest of the chocolate out of the bowl, looked up, "Now it has two eyebrows."  
Lee came over with four mugs of hot chocolate floating next to him. He grabbed one for himself and passed one to each of his friends before looking at Bianca in confusion.  
"Why does she have three eyebrows?" he asked.  
Bianca uncrossed her arms, wiped the chocolate off her face and smudged it onto George's nose instead. "Tell me what happened," she demanded.  
The three boys quickly explained what had happened at the duelling club and how Harry had seemingly set a snake on the Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley.  
"Harry can talk to snakes?" Bianca said, smirking at George who now had a whipped cream moustache to go with his chocolate-tipped nose, "How is that possible?"  
"No one knows," Fred said as if it was the coolest thing on the planet, "But now everyone thinks he's the heir of Slytherin and that he's been petrifying people."  
Bianca's brow creased, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, Harry was in Gryffindor."  
"Exactly," Lee agreed, "That's why it's so stupid. Why would Harry go around petrifying people anyway?"  
"He wouldn't," Fred said, "But you have to admit it is pretty cool. I wish I knew what he'd said to it."  
They finished their drinks, thanked the house elves and headed back to the common. Thankfully this time the twins allowed Bianca to walk on her own and they took their time getting back.  
"Everyone's going to hate Harry now, aren't they?" Lee considered.  
"Only the people stupid enough to believe he's the one causing all this trouble," Fred said, "I mean have you ever heard anything so stupid as the Boy-Who-Lived being the evil heir of Slytherin?"  
"Who is it actually, then?" George asked.  
"Who says there even is one?" Bianca asked, "I mean, it could easily just be someone messing around."  
"Sending a poor first-year to the hospital wing for weeks isn't much of a joke," Lee said.  
"She's got a point though," George said, "The professors said that last time the Chamber was opened, someone died. The only things that have happened now are that a cat and a student have been petrified."  
The next day, however, a cat and a student became a cat, a ghost and two students, when Justin Finch-Fletchley was found next to Nearly-Headless Nick.  
Ginny was mortified and seemed to snap completely one morning a few days later when Harry entered the common room and George jumped up, throwing cloves of garlic at him in attempts to ward him off.  
"Oh, don't" she cried, even though Harry seemed to find it quite entertaining. Bianca watched in confusion as Ginny ran up the stairs to her dorm, leaving her diary on the table. Bea was quick to jump up and grab it, she pointed up as her way of telling the boys she was going to give the diary back and talk to Ginny. She smiled as Fred and George marched Harry out of the room to escort him down to breakfast while shouting ridiculous comments such as, "Make way! The heir of Slytherin needs his evil breakfast!"  
As Bianca headed up the stairs to the first-years dorm, she couldn't resist flipping through the diary, not to read it but rather just to see how small Ginny's handwriting must be to write the amount she did in such a small diary. But the diary was empty. There was not even one word scribbled on any of the pages. Perhaps Ginny had finally come to the end of her old one and had purchased a new journal, but this looked exactly the same as the one she'd been carrying around all year. Bianca closed the diary and knocked on the dormitory door. Slowly, she opened it and poked her head around to see Ginny sitting on her bed with her head in her hands. Her ginger hair cascaded down and covered her face. Bianca closed the door and headed over to her sister. She held the diary out and said gently, "You left this downstairs."  
Ginny looked up and took the diary back.  
"Why is it empty, Gin?" Bianca asked.  
Ginny looked appalled, "You read it?"  
"No, how could I?" Bianca replied, "There's nothing in it. What's going on Ginny, you've been writing in it all year?"  
Ginny didn't seem to know what to do.  
"Come on," Bianca coaxed, "You know I won't tell anyone. I literally don't tell anyone anything."  
Ginny smiled, took a deep breath and said, "It writes back."  
Bianca stared, "It what?"  
"Whenever I write something in it, the words vanish and someone writes back. It helps me, and gives me advice."  
"Ginny-" Bianca started.  
"I know what you're going to say, Bea, and I agree with you, but it's like I can't stop using it. When I started using it, I trusted it, but now I don't know what to do."  
"Get rid of it," Bianca said, "That's weird, Ginny, even for magic. Inanimate objects shouldn't be sentient."  
Ginny considered this for a moment, hugging the diary into her chest, "You can't tell anyone about this," she said.  
"I won't if you get rid of it," Bianca agreed.  
"And if I don't?"  
"I'll tell Percy."  
Ginny looked horrified for a second before remembering Bianca didn't speak to Percy and challenging her.  
"Fine, I'll tell the twins and get them to tell Percy."  
Ginny glared at her.  
"It's dangerous!" Bianca cried, "You don't know who you're writing to or who's writing back. Anything you've put in that could be used against you, it's not safe."  
"It's just a book!"  
Bianca looked at her, shrugged and got up.  
"Fine," Ginny said, "I'll get rid of it."  
Bianca nodded and left to find the twins. She wasn't going to tell them, there was no need as long as Ginny followed through and did what she promised. Bianca just hoped that that would be the end of it.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18  
Thankfully, for months everything seemed to be going fine again. No one had been petrified for months and Ginny had seemingly got rid of her precious diary. In February, leading up to the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff Quidditch match, Wood had the team training every night which meant they were constantly tired from homework on top of playing Quidditch every night.  
The evening before the match, Ginny came to Bianca in the common room, looking concerned and stressed. She led her over to a secluded corner.  
"I took it back," she said quickly, "I had to take it back, but now I don't know what to do with it and-"  
"Took what back?" Bianca asked, checking over her shoulder to make sure no one else was around.  
"The diary," Ginny sighed, "I thought I'd got rid of it but then I saw Harry with it and I remembered what you said about it being dangerous and so I stole it back from him."  
"How did Harry get it?" Bianca demanded quietly.  
"I guess he must have found it!"  
"Get rid of it," Bianca said, standing up, "Properly."  
The next morning, Bianca sat with Fred, George and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team eating the scrambled eggs which Wood had piled onto their plates. Ginny kept catching her eye guiltily from down the table and then looking away again. When Harry, Ron and Hermione left to go and collect Harry's Quidditch gear, Bianca and the twins were just finishing off their breakfast. As they got up in order to head down to the pitch, Bianca froze in her tracks.  
"Kill this time… let me rip… tear…"  
She looked up at George with fearful eyes.  
"I heard it again," she whispered, "I thought it had stopped."  
George shared a concerned look with his brother and led Bea out of the hall.  
"It's going to happen again, isn't it?" Bianca shuddered.  
Fred hugged her reassuringly and said, "Maybe the heir of Slytherin is just a Quidditch fan. They've come out to see that match."  
Bianca smiled and followed the twins down to the match, telling herself the whole way that everything was fine. She was just going out to play Quidditch and there was nothing to worry about. Just as they were all warmed up and ready to play, Professor McGonagall stormed onto the pitch and the match was cancelled. Bianca's heart raced and she nearly lost control of her broom before quickly steadying herself.  
There had been more attacks. New rules were in place. Dumbledore was gone. Everyone was too terrified to do anything alone. Ginny seemed distraught and Bianca was desperate to catch her alone, but that had become impossible with the strict regulations now set. Admittedly, she wasn't entirely sure herself if she wanted more to comfort Ginny or question her on the diary, but the girl was so clearly distressed, that she felt she had to do something.  
It was days before finally, Bianca caught her sister in the toilets after managing to sneak away between classes. Rules were so strict now that teachers escorted them to each lesson so Bianca had to slip away when she saw a mass of flowing red hair out the corner of her eye while Fred and George were occupied planning their next big prank with Lee. She knew she'd then have issues re-joining her class later on, but she felt that this was important and had seized her opportunity.  
"Ginny," she called quietly. She saw a cubicle door close on the far side of the room and walked over slowly, "I need to talk to you." Still, there was no response so she continued, "I know you didn't get rid of the diary, but you still can. It's really dangerous, and with everything that's going on, I don't think you should be putting yourself at more risk. Everything that's going on is upsetting you, and I understand, but maybe you should talk to someone- someone real- instead of writing it all in that creepy book. It'll all get sorted soon, and everyone will be ok so you don't need to worry. Ginny?"  
The bathroom was eerily quiet. Obviously, there was no one in there except Bianca and Ginny, but the lack of any noise was really freaking her out.  
"Ginny?" Bianca's heart started to race and for some reason, she was starting to feel really uncomfortable, "Ginny? What's going on?"  
There was the soft click of a door being unlocked and the cubicle door creaked open. Ginny looked up sadly, "It was me," she sobbed.  
Bianca took a step forward, "What do you mean? What was you?"  
"I opened the Chamber, I wrote the messages. I'm the reason those people are in the Hospital wing."  
"Ginny, don't be silly-"  
"I'm not lying!" she screamed, "You were right, about the diary. He makes me do things. Things I don't want to do. And now I don't know what to do!"  
She looked down at the diary and flicked through the pages. When she looked up again, her eyes were out of focus and she looked dazed and confused. Without a word, she walked over to a tap. She made a weird hissing sound which Bianca somehow knew meant 'open' and suddenly the tap was glowing and spinning. As Bianca watched in horror, the basin began to sink into the floor until there was a gaping hole there. Then, Ginny walked straight past her and out of the door into the corridor. Bianca stood for a few minutes staring at the hole in the ground before following Ginny out of the bathroom. She stopped in her tracks as she looked up at the message which was now scrawled on the wall.  
Their skeletons will lie in the Chamber forever.  
Ginny was standing intimidatingly close to Bianca with that same creepy deadpan look on her face.  
"You," she said quietly, stepping forward slowly and backing Bianca back into the bathroom.  
"Me?" Bianca squeaked. She was unexplainably terrified by her sister's weird actions and didn't quite know how to handle it, "Ginny, listen to me-"  
"I've wanted to see you for so long," Ginny said.  
"You have?"  
"I didn't know where to find you," Ginny continued in a voice that definitely wasn't hers.  
"Well if you follow the two loud identical ginger people, I'm normally not too far away," Bianca tried for humour to make herself feel better. Ginny did not look amused so Bea continued, "Come on, Gin. I don't know what's going on, right now, but this isn't you. Snap out of it!"  
By now, Ginny had backed her up so she was millimetres away from the newly formed hole in the floor. She was one step away from tumbling backwards and she didn't want to find out how far down she'd fall. Ginny reached into her robes and removed her wand.  
"I'll be so glad to see the end of you," Ginny sneered, "For good, this time."  
Blood was racing in her ears, so Bianca didn't hear the spell that Ginny muttered, but before she knew it, she was falling backwards, looking up at the heartless face of her innocent sister. And then she couldn't see anything but black.

Fred and George were panicking. They hadn't seen Bianca since after Transfigurations and suddenly they were all being summoned back to their common rooms due to some sort of school emergency. Then Professor McGonagall had pulled them, Ron and Percy aside only to tell them that Ginny and Bianca had been taken down into the Chamber of Secrets and were most likely dead. Percy had vanished upstairs to write home and had not reappeared since. Fred and George had sunk into chairs in the corner with Ron and Harry, unable to listen properly to what McGonagall announced to the rest of the house. They knew the school would be closing, but that wasn't important. Their unofficial triplet, their best friend since they could remember, was probably gone forever. And just to make it worse, their baby sister was too. Normally in situations as depressingly silent as this, the twins would be up, kindly putting smiles back on people's faces and trying to make the mood lighter. But now they could do nothing. With no Bianca to there to watch from afar with a smirk on her face and no Ginny to giggle and entertain them, what was the point? It felt like a part of them had been ripped away and brutally murdered before their eyes. How could they possibly go home tomorrow and sleep in their room without her? How could they sit at meals, with an empty seat either between or beside them and continue to tell jokes and laugh? Who was going to be there, knowing exactly what to say and do when they were angry or sad?  
At sunset, they couldn't take it any longer, shared a look that they mutually understood and climbed the stairs to their dorm, telling themselves that maybe they could forget about what had happened because, after all, Bianca was never in their dorm with them. Surely, they could go up to bed and the next morning, meet up with her in the common room and head to breakfast as usual. They didn't speak to each other, but sat on Fred's bed, shoulder to shoulder, finally allowing tears to stream down their cheeks and onto their laps. And they stayed in that position for hours.

When Bianca opened her eyes wearily, she was lying on an ice-cold stone floor, her body aching all over. She turned her head to the side to see Ginny lying limply on the floor, with a black-haired boy kneeling next to her and a handsome young man standing to one side, talking about something.  
The boy sitting on the floor looked up at her and breathed a sigh of relief ad Bianca finally realised who it was. Questions rolled around in her mind which was already throbbing as she assumed, she must have bumped it during her fall down to wherever she currently was. Moving a hand up, she could feel a tender bump forming on her temple but she immediately removed her hand as pain shot through her head. She didn't know where she was, what had happened to Ginny, how long she'd been there, why Harry Potter was there or who the strange boy standing next to them was but, as usual in social situations, she couldn't find the voice to ask any of these things or the multiple other questions buzzing in her brain.  
Harry seemed to be in mid-argument with the man; Bianca struggled to hear what they were saying properly over the ringing in her ears and the constant throbbing in her head. There were two lines of fancy writing in mid-air, but Bianca's vision was swirling and she couldn't read it properly. Suddenly, Harry was screaming at her to get out of the way and the man was speaking in that strange hissing language. Bianca managed to haul herself into a sitting position and crawl over to the side. Lots of things she previously hadn't spotted filled her sight, including a beautiful scarlet songbird and a large stone sculpture carved into the wall which was moving as the man spoke.  
Harry was backing up against the far wall but Bianca couldn't blame him. The most horrifying thing she'd ever seen was slithering towards him. A humungous serpent with fangs the size of swords and disgusting scaly skin made its way towards him. If Bea had been standing up, she knew she would have fallen to her knees as several things clicked together like a jigsaw in her mind. Slytherin's monster which had been running rampant in the castle all year was a basilisk, and it also happened to be mere meters away from her. Bianca knew a basilisk's look could kill, but Colin Creevey's camera, the ghost which Justin must have seen it through and the mirror Hermione was found holding must have saved them. The noises Bianca had heard before each attack must have been the snake, priming itself for attack. She didn't understand who the young man was or why he was standing next to a message which read 'I am Lord Voldemort', but Bianca decided she didn't like him and scrambled to her feet so she could help Harry who was stumbling around with his eyes closed.  
The young man saw her moving and stepped in her way, raising what looked like Harry's wand and firing jinxes at her. She quickly removed her own wand from her robes and started fighting back, still trying to move in Harry's general direction.  
"You're good," the man said, "These are some pretty strong silent curses." For obvious reasons, Bianca didn't respond, just firing more spells at the man who said, "I haven't introduced myself. My name is Tom Riddle, but you might know me by a different name," he nodded his head to the floating words next to him, "I've wanted you dead for a long time, but if you don't mind, I have to dispose of Potter before I can deal with you properly. He causes a lot more issues than you do."  
Bianca gritted her teeth and took a deep breath as she had to fight harder against Riddle's spells.  
"Now, really," he chided, "I asked you nicely. And I'm sure there's a lot you want to know all of which I can explain. I can tell you who you are."  
That got her attention. Letting her guard down for just a second allowed Riddle to disarm her and make her wand fly across the Chamber and for her to be knocked off her feet. Riddle smirked and turned, probably hoping to see Harry getting disembowelled by a basilisk, but to both Bianca and Harry's relief, the fiery-coloured bird was jabbing at the serpent, ultimately blinding it and allowing Bianca to dart across and snatch up her wand.  
Riddle was screaming orders at the snake, telling him to ignore the bird and kill Harry instead. When Bianca looked, she was disgusted to see that the basilisk's eyes had been completely removed and scarlet blood was streaming down its poisonous green face. It shrieked and thrashed around, unable to see its prey which had somehow miraculously gained a sword and was holding it up ready. Bianca sprinted forward, watching in horror as the basilisk found its mark and sunk a fang into Harry's arm. She desperately flung every spell, jinx and curse she knew at the beast, hoping to distract it from Harry and give him another chance, but, as she was fixed on keeping an eye on Harry, the monster's tail lashed out and connected painfully with her stomach. She was flung backwards, and flew through the air, ribs and middle screaming in agonising pain until her body reached the lethal stone wall a few meters up. She screamed out and fell to the ground. It felt as if she was being dragged across a bed of nails as each bit of bare skin snagged on rocks and her robes were ripped to shreds, exposing her more.  
She couldn't move. Everything happened in slow motion. She could see a green blob flop to the floor and a small figure which she assumed must be Harry sink to his knees. Her head ached, her body was on fire but she had to help Harry. Feeling as though she was crawling through a furnace, with scorching hot swords scraping into her, she made her way back towards the second-year and the man who loomed over them victoriously. She couldn't really hear anything, but could see the bird- was that a phoenix?- land next to Harry and bow his head. As if with a mind of her own, Bianca instinctively reached out and took Ginny's diary which was on the floor by her hand. She could almost feel the evil emanating from it. Bianca's brain felt like it had been left next to the wall she'd so violently collided with because she had no idea what she was doing, but still she continued forward, vision swimming and every inch of her body protesting.  
Riddle was shouting at the phoenix to get away from Harry, not that Bianca could figure out why, and Harry seemed to be pulling himself together. 'Wasn't basilisk venom deadly?' Bianca thought, 'Shouldn't he be dead?'.  
But rather than flopping to the ground and dying, Harry made eye contact with Bianca, snatched up a dagger-like fang from the dead beast and rolled it towards her. Before Riddle could do anything, Bianca had pierced the diary. Ink splattered everywhere, and the ringing in Bianca's ears was replaced with an awful scream. She could barely feel the ink flooding over her hands and didn't register Riddle writhing around next to her until he was gone and she dropped the fang and collapsed in on herself, finally knowing she was safe.  
She lay, curled up, trying to regain her senses as Harry rescued his sword from the basilisk's mouth and hurried over to Ginny who thankfully was starting to come around. Bianca focused on taking deep breaths to try and control the searing pain which had engulfed her. When she finally felt strong enough, she stumbled to her feet and limped over to Harry and Ginny who were getting to their feet. Ginny was full of apologies but Harry cut her off.  
"Are you alright?" he asked, voice full of concern.  
"I'm fine," Bianca replied shakily, not even realising what she was doing, "Or I will be when we get out of here and my body stops feeling like every bone has been crushed into tiny pieces. That was amazing Harry, I've never seen anything so- what?"  
Harry was gaping at her in astonishment, "You spoke to me!" he gasped.  
Bianca managed to smile, "I guess after all of that, I must be able to trust you."  
Harry beamed, "Come on, let's get out of here."  
He helped Ginny, still blubbing sadly, towards the exit, leaving Bianca to stumble after them. She nearly fell multiple times, but used every bit of strength and energy she had left to make her way through the tunnels to where they found Ron and- curiously- Professor Lockhart. Bianca had no idea what was going on and later wouldn't remember anything that happened in the few minutes which passed in a daze. She couldn't have told anyone about flying up the passage, or landing in the girl's bathroom, or even stumbling into Professor McGonagall's office and being wrapped in a bone-crushing hug- she had been sure her bones couldn't be crushed any more than they already were but apparently she was wrong. She probably would be able to recall the story which Harry had recounted, but pictures were dancing in front of her eyes and she swayed slightly as she sat between her mum and dad. Harry hadn't been able to explain why Bianca had been in the chamber to begin with, but thankfully, Ginny stepped in, sobbing dreadfully to explain how Bianca has realised that something was off with the diary and had been trying to help all year. Everyone's words sounded like they were underwater and in a different language and the conversation seemed to last for years, but finally, Mrs Weasley was leading Ginny away and Mr Weasley helped Bianca unsteadily to her feet.  
"Perhaps," Dumbledore said as they neared the door, "I could speak with Bianca when she has recovered."  
Bea managed to nod slightly before allowing Mr Weasley to practically carry her to the hospital wing. Apparently, he had been muttering encouragingly in her ear as they went but she was completely unaware.  
In fact, the only thing she could properly remember aside from complete pain and exhaustion, was the hug which Fred and George had wrapped her in half an hour later when they burst into the hospital wing and charged over to her. And she'd never been happier.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to Ninamaria429 for the review you left. It's literally the sweetest thing I've read, I appreciate it more than I can say, thank you so much I hope I don't disappoint you at any point! Also thank you to Herochick007 from a few chapters ago, I'm glad you're enjoying it. :D

I promise the story will start getting exciting at some point too haha. Enjoy! :)

Chapter 19

Apparently, there has been a most wonderous feast and celebration that night at Hogwarts, but Bianca had spent it unconscious in the hospital wing with Fred and George by her side.

She felt silly when she woke up, for laying so helplessly under someone else's care while Harry, the real hero and the one who had nearly died, was down in the Great Hall, perfectly fine. Madame Pomfrey had explained the extensive damage which had occurred to Bianca internally thanks to the impact of her dramatic snail-tail-whip and wall collision and it had been a few days before Bianca had been permitted to leave, despite feeling fine after mere hours and some rest. Fred and George had rarely left her because they felt so guilty about letting her go off on her own. Ginny had apologised for not trusting her and destroying the diary earlier and Harry had dropped in to thank her for her help in the Chamber and for looking out for Ginny during the year. Mrs Weasley had repeatedly told her how proud she was and what a good sister she'd been.

A couple of weeks later, Bianca was strolling around the grounds with her friends, still slightly sore and achy, when she was approached by Professor McGonagall. She was led through the castle until she was back sitting where she had been after the dreadful affair in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Dumbledore sat behind McGonagall's desk, looking at her over the top of his glasses.

"Thank you, Minerva," he said, "If you would be so kind as to leave us." McGonagall looked reluctant but Dumbledore continued, "I fear if you remain to listen, our conversation may be fairly one-sided."

Bianca blushed sheepishly and looked down as the headmaster winked at her. McGonagall nodded sharply and left.

"You have been exceedingly loyal this year, and very brave. Your sister was in terrible danger and you stepped up to help her when no one else did."

Bianca's brow creased. It was Harry who had saved them both from the Chamber of Secrets. As if reading her mind, Dumbledore said, "While Mr Potter entered the Chamber to rescue you both after he knew for definite, from what I heard, you were looking out for Miss Weasley long before that. I wondered if I might hear this year's events from your point of view."

And so, Bianca explained. She told him about how she could hear the basilisk in the walls and how she'd noticed Ginny's discomfort and questioned her about it. She told Dumbledore everything that she could remember, explaining with embarrassment her lack of recollection from the fight.

"I am sure you have many questions," Dumbledore, "Unfortunately I cannot answer all of them, but I will do my best."

"Honestly, Professor, I don't understand anything that happened all year. I just saw that Ginny needed help and I tried to help her. I don't know why I could hear the basilisk, or who Tom Riddle is and definitely not why he said he could tell me 'who I am'."

"Tom Riddle was a student at this school many years ago. He was deeply troubled and highly ambitious and, long story short, turned into one of the darkest wizards our world has ever known. I assume you are familiar with poor Mr Potter's past troubles with the Dark Lord and, to this day, Tom Riddle- or Lord Voldemort- is still trying to see the end of Harry for good. He left behind the diary which Miss Weasley has been writing in all year to preserve his memory and this year, used this to wreak havoc and bring Harry to him. What you destroyed in the Chamber was a piece of Voldemort. You saved both Harry's and Ginny's life by destroying that diary."

"Harry had it under control," Bianca said modestly, "He would have managed if I wasn't there."

"Alas, we will never know what would have happened if you weren't there because, in fact, you were. And I'm sorry to say that I cannot tell you why you could hear the basilisk or what Mr Riddle meant when he spoke to you. I can only hope we find out soon enough."

As Bianca got up to leave the office, Dumbledore said, "I can't thank you enough for what you did this year. I dread to think what might have happened if you weren't there to help your sister."

"But sir, we will never know that," Bianca mimicked her headmaster's previous words, "Because, in fact, I was."

Bianca enjoyed every second of the train ride home at the end of the year, but her favourite part was definitely when Ginny unveiled a certain piece of news.

"Percy's got a girlfriend," she announced.

The was a thud as Fred dropped a large pile of books on George's head. Bianca suspected it wasn't entirely accidental. "What?"

Ginny described how upset he'd been when Penelope Clearwater had been attacked and how she'd found them kissing in an empty classroom, "You won't tease him, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred said with a cheeky smirk.

"Definitely not," George agreed but both of the twins were snickering in glee. The three shared a mischievous look, collected their belongings- Fred helped Bea with some of her heavier cases- and headed towards the barrier together.

The first couple of days of summer were great. Being back at home where they were definitely safe was the best feeling in the world. One morning, Bianca awoke to find the twins sitting at the end of her bed in identical positions with their legs crossed and fingers interlocked and their chins resting gently on their hands.

"Bianca," Fred said.

"Fred," Bianca replied, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"We've been thinking," George said.

"Oh," Bianca sat up suddenly, "Be careful."

"And we realised something," Fred continued.

"Right," Bianca had no idea what was happening, but decided to let the boys continue.

"When we thought we were never going to see you again," George started.

"We've never felt so hopeless and lost," Fred said.

"Cute," Bianca muttered, "I'm touched."

"And," George continued, "We realised if we hadn't been so careless as to let you run off to the bathroom alone-"

"It never would have happened," Fred concluded.

"And so…" George continued.

"We have come up with a new rule," Fred said.

"Excellent. Do I have to follow it, or can I ignore it like we do every other rule in existence?"

"You have to follow it," George clarified.

"It's compulsory."

"Think of it more like a law than a rule."

"Right," Bea sighed, "What is it?"

"You," Fred said.

"Are never-"

"Ever-"

"Allowed to go to the bathroom," George told her seriously.

Bianca stared at them, "Excellent."

"You know us," Fred said.

"Always looking out for you."

"How kind," Bianca stood up, "I'm going to the toilet."

"Nope," George said, "There's a law remember."

"No bathrooms," Fred said, as if she'd forgotten.

"What would you rather I do instead?" Bianca asked.

"Well," George said, "We took the liberty of coming up with a few solutions. There's a lovely pond in the back yard for bathing or showering."

"Lovely," Bianca murmured.

"I'm sure mum would lend us a jug for-" Fred paused, "you know."

"Gross," Bianca sighed.

"And there's always the kitchen sink for brushing your teeth. I mean really, what's the difference between a kitchen sink and a bathroom sink?"

"One is for washing dishes and one is a deadly passageway to an evil Chamber?" Bianca guessed.

"Exactly," the twins said together, "Now you understand."

"So, I'll just go and get a jug, shall I?" Bianca asked, "Won't be a minute."

Bianca ducked out of the room and ran to the bathroom before the twins could stop her. Naturally, when she unlocked the door a little while later, Fred and George were waiting and grabbed her by the arms, hauling her back into their bedroom.

"You, miss, just broke the law," George said, "And 'round here, there are serious punishments for that."

And so started ten solid minutes of malicious tickling. Bianca writhed around on her bed, desperately trying to avoid the boys while also laughing loudly. Eventually, she reached for a pillow, turning the harmless tickle war into a fully-fledged pillow fight. Fred and George fought back with their own cushions and they hit and ducked for ages, laughing wildly until Percy stormed in and told them that they were being too loud. George pulled a face at his brother's retreating back and flopped onto the bed.

"We were serious when we said we were hopeless without you," George said as they headed down the stairs for breakfast.

"Never leave us again, Bea," Fred said, "We need you."

Bianca smiled and wrapped each twin in turn in a hug, whispering, "I love you," in each of their ears, "Now stop being soppy."

While Bianca's arms were wrapped around George's neck in a hug, he grabbed her and, with some crazy strength, he swung her around his body so that he was giving her a piggy-back ride.

He charged down the stairs and into the kitchen, running several laps of the kitchen table before depositing her in a chair. Fred sat next to her and George went over to help Mrs Weasley make breakfast. Ron was sitting opposite Fred with a serious case of bed-head and yawning every few seconds. Like the rest of his siblings, except Percy who was, of course, fully dressed and ready. Ginny was sitting on the kitchen counter sipping a glass of orange juice and chatting away happily to Mrs Weasley.

"You know," Percy said as he sipped his tea and scanned over the Daily Prophet as though he were an 80-year-old man, "I really will be surprised if I don't get the position of Head Boy this year."

Fred rolled his eyes, "Come up with another reason to add to the three hundred you've already told us, eh, Perce?"

"Fred," Mrs Weasley scolded.

"What?" Fred demanded, "He's already told us about how he's an exemplary student, a role model for younger students, has never disobeyed any of the school rules even slightly and not to mention how he's never missed a homework deadline and treats every professor like they're royalty. What else do we need to know?"

"Actually," Percy said sheepishly, "I did miss one homework deadline."

George dropped his mug of tea and Fred fell off his chair. Ron immediately looked ten times more awake and Ginny started choking on her juice.

"What?" Fred said on horror from the floor as George reached across to smack Ginny on the back.

"It was a divinations essay," Percy explained, "It was set a day before it was due and I was… preoccupied."

Fred raised an eyebrow ad he hauled himself back onto the seat, "Preoccupied?"

"Yes," Percy said with a sniff, "I was busy."

"Doing what, Percy?" George asked as he handed Ginny a glass of water to sip on.

"None of your business."

"Were you with your girlfriend?" Fred taunted.

"Now really," Mrs Weasley said, turning around, "Leave your brother alone. No one's perfect."

"As they well know," Percy muttered.

"Hey!" Fred said, "Even we've never not handed in our homework because we've been 'preoccupied' with our girlfriends. You must have been _very_ busy to not even start your homework, Percy."

"Fred," Mrs Weasley warned, "Don't be disgusting."

"Yes," Percy sneered, "You just didn't do your work because you were causing havoc elsewhere."

"Ha!" George shouted, "I think you'll find we've actually completed every piece of homework we've ever been set to a very high standard."

"I don't believe it," Percy said.

"It's true," Fred confirmed, "Not once have we had detention for not doing homework."

Percy looked to Mrs Weasley for confirmation who nodded. He snorted and took his seat at the table to eat his breakfast in embarrassed silence. When Mrs Weasley had served up all the breakfast, she took told Ginny to come and sit at the table properly and took the newspaper from Percy.

"Oh," she said, "Apparently the winner of that competition was selected last night. I wonder if your dad knows who won. I hope it's someone worthy."

"Someone worthy it was," Mr Weasley said as he came in, as if he'd been summoned by their conversation.

Several Weasleys jumped up to welcome their dad home.

"Sometimes working night shifts does come in useful," Mr Weasley said tiredly as he hugged his children, "You get to find things out earlier than you're meant to."

"Who was it, Arthur? Do we know them?" Mrs Weasley asked, pecking her husband on the cheek and passing him a steaming mug of tea.

"Oh yes, we know them," Mr Weasley teased, "From what I've heard they're a very lovely family."

"Oh, I am glad," Mrs Weasley said, "I'd hate for all that money to go to waste for someone who really doesn't need it. It's so much better that it's gone to someone who needs it."

"Come on then, dad," Percy said, "Tell us who it was."

Mr Weasley beamed widely and produced a large sack of coins from his robes, "Us!" he exclaimed happily.

Mrs Weasley shrieked and wrapped Mr Weasley in a hug. Fred, George and Bianca danced around the room with Ginny and Ron. Even Percy cracked a smile.

"Oh, we must go and visit Bill!" Mrs Weasley cried, "We haven't seen him in so long." Bianca and the twins' faces lit up in delight.

"We'll get Ron a new wand too," Mr Weasley smiled.

"This is excellent! Arthur, I'm so happy! I'll write to Bill immediately."

"Mum," George said, "Will Charlie come?"

"We can certainly ask him," Mrs Weasley nodded, "So long as he can get time off."

Bianca had never been so excited. She hadn't seen either of her oldest brothers in years and she missed them hopelessly. And so when they arrived in Egypt via portkey a few weeks later, an ear-piercing squeal erupted from her and she leapt into Bill's arms who had been waiting patiently for them outside their arranged arrival place. Bill laughed and spun her around a few times before putting her down and doing the same to Ginny who was equally excited. Once he'd greeted his sisters, he turned to the twins and wrapped them both in a headlock jovially. He hugged Ron, his mother and father and turned to Percy who nodded curtly at him.

"It's so good to see you all," Bill said grinning, "Come on, I'll show you where you're staying."

The Weasleys had decided to rent a family home not too far away from where Bill lived and worked for the duration of their stay. It was in a beautiful area of Egypt and Bill had promised them all he'd show them all the best pyramids which had been named safe for exploration. It was a short walk from where they arrived to their temporary home and Mrs Weasley and Ginny bombarded Bill with questions for the entire duration. Percy walked with Mr Weasley, pointing out various landmarks or boring cultural things. Fred and George were tormenting Ron, telling him in depth about all the mummies that were certain to be lurking in the pyramids.

Bill pointed out their house as they got close. It was a beautiful, villa-like building with three floors and plenty of windows looking out onto the desert from one side and across the city on the other. It was painted completely white and had a pool in the back garden. It was the most luxurious thing they'd ever seen and they couldn't wait to explore it all.

Just as they were reaching the front door, Mrs Weasley asked, "And when will Charlie be arriving? He said he'd organise it all with you."

Bill laughed as he opened the door for his family, "He shouldn't be too long. You'll see him soon enough."

The family filed into the house to explore but were quickly when Ginny found something waiting for them in the kitchen.

"Charlie!" she shouted when her eyes fell on her brother. He was sitting with his feet up on a chair and his arms crossed, but he jumped to his feet to greet his family. Soon, there was a full-on Weasley group hug in the middle of the room, with Charlie and Ginny squashed in the middle, Fred, George and Bianca engulfing them and Bill, Ron, Mr and Mrs Weasley wrapping their arms around the outside. It wasn't until everyone started shouting at Percy that he finally joined them, awkwardly attaching himself to his mother. They all stood there for a few minutes, happy to have all ten of them back together again before Fred and George broke away and said in unison, "We want the biggest room!"

Mrs Weasley chuckled and together the group climbed the grand staircase in the hallway to investigate the rooms. The middle floor was made up of three bedrooms and the top floor consisted of two bedrooms and an extra bathroom.

"Bill, will you be staying with us here?" Mr Weasley asked his son after they had looked around all the rooms and were standing on the top floor.

"Is this not a family holiday?" Bill replied, "I have time off work, of course I'll be here."

"Excellent, then you and Charlie can have this room and Fred, George and Bianca can have the big one next to it. Ginny, you can have the little room at the top of the stairs and Percy, you and Ron can have the one overlooking the desert."

Ginny looked delighted to have a room all to herself whereas Ron looked appalled to be sharing with Percy. Bianca sent him a sympathetic look, but the twins were sniggering quietly.

They all took a few hours to unpack and settle into their rooms which only caused more issues for Bianca, Fred and George. Despite that their room was the biggest in the house, it only consisted of two beds. They spent a very long time arguing over who would have the sofa before Bill came in, wanting to know what all the racket was about.

"Well, Bill," Fred said, "There are three people who will be sleeping in this room and, as I assume you can see, there are only two beds."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "There is literally a sofa right there. Take it in turns."

George looked horrified, "But then how are we ever supposed to get settled in properly?"

Their older brother sighed and removed his wand, "Well then," he said, "I guess there's just one solution."

With a flick of his wand, the two beds were being pushed together until they were touching and formed one large bed. They also both seemed to grow slightly in size so that there was a bit more space.

"I hope you like sharing," Bill said with a wink, "Now shut up. The walls are thin in here and we're sick of hearing you three arguing."

To a lot of people, two boys sharing a bed with a girl would have been weird, and for any other combination of people, it would have been, but Fred, George and Bianca had always found comfort being close to one another and felt safest when they were together so it wasn't really that strange. They'd slept in the same bedroom since they were babies, so it wasn't anything new to them. They just made sure that no one found out at school. The three had a very special bond which most wouldn't understand.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and getting used to the house which was much larger than anywhere they'd ever stayed before aside from Hogwarts, of course. They sat together by the pool in the sun, enjoying hearing all about Charlie's experience in Romania and Bill's job in Egypt.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

By the time the sun was setting and the air was starting to cool, everyone was ready to head up to bed after waking up early to get ready to leave and running around the villa excitedly all afternoon. Ginny happily retired to her room, looking forward to some peace by herself. Ron's previously happy face sunk when he remembered who his roommate was and he followed Percy glumly into their room. Mrs Weasley kissed all of her children goodnight before closing the door to her and her husband's room. Bianca continued up the second flight of stairs with the twins, Bill and Charlie. Once they'd all changed into their pyjamas, Bill and Charlie snuck back into the other's room and sat on the bottom of the newly enlarged bed. The older two continued to tell their younger siblings about their more dangerous adventurous which they hadn't dared tell their mum. George, Fred and Bianca listened intently, jealous of their brothers' exciting jobs. In return, they told Bill and Charlie all about the Chamber of Secrets and their explorations of the school- how they found all the secret passageways, including the one that led from next to the kitchens up to the Gryffindor common room which they'd discovered accidentally at the end of the year and added to the Marauder's Map.

Bill had jokingly told Fred and George off for not looking after Bianca properly and had wrapped his sister in a big cuddle. Bea decided to stay snuggled into Bill's side because, after this holiday, she didn't know when she'd next see him and wanted to make the most of her time with her brothers. As conversation moved onto the twins' plans for future pranks, Bill started absent-mindedly playing with Bianca's hair. Everyone was extremely tired, but felt like they had so much to catch up on together. It wasn't until Fred nearly slipped off the bed because he'd dozed off while George was explaining how they wanted to steal Peeves' entire supply of dungbombs, which they'd stumbled across last year, and put them all in Filch's office so that they'd explode when he did certain things.

With lightning fast reflexes, Charlie reached out and caught Fred before he hit the ground. Fred blinked several times and shook his head as Charlie steadied him.

"I think it's time for bed," Bill laughed, looking down at Bianca who was giggling at Fred while yawning widely.

Fred looked around sheepishly, turning bright red because his siblings were laughing at him. George sniggered but his eyelids were drooping too. Bianca gave Charlie and Bill a hug before clambering across the bed and snuggling down between the twins.

"Maybe you two shouldn't let Fred too close to the edge of the bed," Charlie laughed as he left, "Just in case he ends up in Ginny's room downstairs."

"Oi!" Fred protested sleepily, "I'm not heavy enough to fall all the way through the floor!"

Charlie laughed and closed the door.

"'m not stupid enough to fall out of bed either," Fred muttered.

George grinned, "Of course not, Fred," he lowered his voice to a stage whisper and said to Bianca, "Maybe keep one arm around him, just in case."

Fred rolled over and stuck his tongue out at George.

"Maybe tomorrow we'll tie him to the bed," Bianca teased.

"If you're that concerned," Fred said, "I'll sleep in the middle."

"And let you kick us both out as revenge?" Bianca said, "No thanks."

Thanks to Bills enchantments, the bed was so big that it was like they had their own bed each so Fred had plenty of space to move slightly closer to Bianca once the others had fallen asleep, just in case. After all, he didn't want to be subject to endless teasing if he ended up on the floor in the middle of the night.

Needless to say, the next morning, when Fred woke up to discover he was in fact still safely in his bed. He smirked as he sat up to see that George was half hanging off the bed, with one arm draped over the edge and his foot poking out of the covers. Really it was too good an opportunity to miss. As quietly as he could, Fred slipped out of bed and crept around it which took an extremely long amount of time considering the size of it. As quickly as he could once he'd reached his brother, he grabbed hold of George's wrist, yanked him off the mattress and dived back over both his twin and Bianca so he was back in his original position. He buried himself under the duvet as if he'd never moved just as George collided with the floor, all tangled up in his blankets. George groaned and sat up on the floor, poking his head up above the bed to glare at Fred.

"Really?" he demanded.

Fred yawned and faked stretching as if he'd just woken up, "What?" he asked innocently, as Charlie and Bill burst into the room to see what was going on.

"What's going on?" Bill asked.

"Why is he on the floor?" Charlie said.

"Silly Georgie must have fallen out of bed!" Fred laughed.

"You pushed me!" George argued, clambering to his feet.

"How could I? I'm sitting right here!"

Bianca, who had somehow managed to sleep through most of this commotion, muttered something and rolled over grumpily.

Bill laughed, "Someone's sleepy."

"Someone didn't get woken up at a ridiculous hour by their idiot brother pushing them out of bed!" George said, "And I'm jealous of them."

"Well," Charlie said, "It's only fair that if we're all awake, she is too."

The boys shared a look and immediately all leapt up onto the combined beds. They were jumping up and down continuously which finally woke Bianca up. She curled up into a tight ball to avoid getting trampled on.

"Get off!" she cried, "I'm awake, stop!"

Bill crouched down next to her, "What was that?" With immense strength, he picked Bianca up as if she were as light as a quaffle and threw her up into the air. She screamed and flailed but Bill caught her again. She glared at him.

"You could have dropped me."

"Never," Bill laughed, "You're so small and light you could pass as being five, not fifteen. Hasn't mum been feeding you?"

"No, she decided that because I wasn't actually her daughter that the money usually used to buy me food would be better off going to this holiday so she's been starving me," Bianca said sarcastically.

"Hm," Charlie seemed to consider this, "I don't see why she'd starve you. I mean, Fred and George eat more than the rest of the family put together, it'd be much more effective to stop feeding them."

"Ah but you see," Fred intervened, "Mum loves me and George. The house would be no fun without us there to make people laugh. There'd be no difference if she bunked off Bea, she doesn't do anything."

"Hey! Who was it saying just the other day how much they need me?" Bea reminded them.

"Certainly not me," George said, "I'd appreciate the extra space. Our room is far too crowded."

Fred nodded in agreement, "Imagine not having to constantly look after Bea, George. It's a right faff to keep her out of trouble, she never stops causing mayhem."

Bill snorted "You're not convincing anyone, Fred. Everyone knows Bea's an angel."

Fred smirked, "I'm not Fred, I'm George."

"And I'm Albus Dumbledore," Bill said sarcastically, "Nice to meet you. Now get dressed, I'm taking you to some pyramids after breakfast."

The Weasleys were having the time of their lives. Even Bill who lived in Egypt felt like he was on holiday because he was having such a great time with his family. They visited two pyramids before lunch and Bill explained in detail about all the curses and spells he and his colleagues had fought through to make them safe for muggle archaeologists (Percy was particularly interested in how the process worked from start to finish).

After lunch, Bill took them to where he had been working most recently.

"We just finished work on this one the other day," Bill said, after negotiating with one of the wizarding workers to let them in, "We did the final checks to make sure we'd got rid of all the curses just over a week ago and are getting ready to clear out to allow muggles to 'discover it'. We have our own workers who go in to check everything's safe after last year's mishap when we'd got past all the curses on the entrance to the pyramid but didn't check any of the artefacts. It was chaos."

"What happened?" Ron asked eagerly.

"There were muggles running around madly with extra heads or, in some cases, no heads. Someone was getting turned inside out- that one was messy- and one person had a crocodile attached to their leg. It was crazy."

Fred and George looked astounded, "Woah."

"Don't worry," Bill added hastily, catching his mother's concerned gaze, "We checked everything multiple times. Never again will we have that ordeal with the three ministries that were involved."

"Three?" Percy repeated.

"Well there was our ministry because it was the Gringott's team, and then the Egyptian ministry obviously because we're in Egypt and the muggles involved were American so we had to deal with MACUSA too," Bill explained.

They entered the pyramid together once Mrs Weasley had asked Bill several times if it was thoroughly safe and asked Mr Weasley at least twice if Ginny should be allowed in. Eventually, Charlie had to step forward and take hold of Ginny's hand, promising to look after her. Bill nodded and ducked into the landmark.

Even though, from the outside, this pyramid looked exactly the same as the other two they'd been that morning, the inside was completely different. It was like visiting two apartments in a block of flats and the interior decorations being completely different in each. The inscriptions on the walls told entirely different life stories, some of which Bill was able to explain to them. Percy was particularly interested in the translation of the hieroglyphs while Fred, George and Bianca were desperate to explore. Bill took them to them up to the king's chamber where there was still a beautiful bejewelled sarcophagus in the centre. There were a lot more artefacts in this pyramid which they hadn't seen in others.

"This pyramid hasn't been 'discovered' yet," Bill explained, "It's important that once we've been to a site, that we leave everything exactly how we found it. If anything usually found in a pyramid is missing when muggles find it, they might get suspicious."

"What would happen if a muggle found a pyramid before wizards?" Ron asked.

"Wizards have found every pyramid there is to find in Egypt. We've got them all plotted on maps and hidden them under strong disillusionment charms so only we know where they are and muggles can't find them. It's just about making them all safe and uncovering them for discovery."

"What happens when you run out of pyramids?" Ginny asked.

"It's not pyramids we break curses on," Bill said, "In fact, we don't spend much time at all working in places like these. A lot more often we're based elsewhere breaking illegal jinxes on small objects that aren't in pyramids at all."

Bill led them deep down into the pyramid, "This is where all the slaves are buried. We think the pharaoh buried here was particularly powerful because we've never found so many servants in any other pyramid."

There were hundreds of bones scattered across the floor of the chamber. Some more put together skeletons were in seated positions but in some places, there was just an odd skull or rib. It was really quite gruesome.

"You don't know who's tomb this is?" Mr Weasley questioned curiously.

Bill shrugged, "That's not our job. We don't care about what the stuff is, we just care about making it safe. Anyway, older pharaohs buried their slaves with them in pyramids so they could serve them in the afterlife. But after a while, Egyptians started making little models which would supposedly come to life to do the tasks instead. This king must have been one from a very long time ago. Or just have been really mean."

As they were leaving the large burial chamber, they passed a skeleton on the ground. The bones were yellowed and cracked and Bill stopped.

"This poor guy was a grave robber," he said, "There's a tunnel which I'll take you down in a second that leads out of the side of the pyramid that robbers used to get in. Unfortunately for this one, he didn't get out in time."

"Why not?" Fred asked.

"Curses," Bill said simply, removing his wand, "This isn't what he looked like when we found him."

With a quick flick of his wand, the skeleton started to change shape. The skull grew to about three times the size it was previously and strange lumps started appearing on other bones so that there was barely any space within the ribcage and so the legs were so deformed it would have been impossible to walk.

"It squished his organs within his bones and expanded his brain until…" he paused. "Yeah, you can imagine. Not a nice end, if you ask me."

Mrs Weasley gasped and Bill replaced the charm that had concealed the horrors of the man's death.

"We had a bit of a close shave with that particular curse ourselves," Bill said, "It was nasty."

"I don't think I want to know," Mrs Weasley said shakily.

"Me either," Percy agreed, "As fascinating as this all is, I think I've had enough for today."

"Not scared are you, Percy?" George teased.

"Of course not," Percy said with a snort.

Ron, whose face had blanched when he'd seen the skeleton, nodded in agreement, "I want to go too."

"I can remember the way out. How about I'll take Ron and Percy back out with anyone else who wants to come and we'll wait for Bill to show everyone else what's left?" Mr Weasley suggested.

"I'll come with you, Arthur," Mrs Weasley said, "It is rather stuffy in here."

"Right. If you get lost, don't move, I'll come and find you," Bill said.

"Look after Ginny!" Mrs Weasley called.

"Dam," Bill muttered sarcastically, "I was planning to leave her behind and let her find her own way out."

He led George, Bianca, Fred, Charlie and Ginny up a small passage.

"This is the last thing I want to show you," Bill said, "But it's quite special so we can take our time."

The tunnel emerged onto the side of the pyramid. The blocks were quite difficult to climb up seeing as they were so large but eventually, they all managed to help each other get to the top. They leaned on the capstone to catch their breath and Bill checked his watch.

"Everyone cover your eyes," he instructed.

Once everyone was sufficiently blinded, Bill positioned them all facing out across the desert.

"Wait two minutes," he said.

"Bill," Fred said, "If you're building up to push us all off the top of a pyramid, I'm going to kill you."

Bill laughed, "It'll be worth it, I promise."

"What'll be worth it?" George demanded, "Falling 120m to our deaths? Will we get slaves to serve us in the afterlife?"

"Just trust me."

He positioned himself in amongst his siblings. A few minutes later, he smiled and said, "Ok, you can look now."

Five gasps of appreciation filled the air. The sky was stained a deep scarlet red and streaked with gorgeous oranges and yellows. The few clouds which were dotted around in the sky were pinks and purples. Off in the distance, there was a cluster of pyramids which were shaded black against the explosion of colours that was the sky. They could see for miles across the desert. Bill jumped down to the block below and sat down. His brothers and sisters followed his lead and all spread out across the side of the pyramid to watch the sunset together.

Ginny was in awe, "It's beautiful!"

Bill smiled, "I thought you'd like it. It's a shame the others didn't want to come up, I would have loved to show them all."

"They'll be able to see it from down there," Fred said, "Besides, it's so much nicer not having Percy wittering on about ancient history."

"At least he's enjoying himself," Charlie said, "It would be torturous if he was miserable."

The group sat together for about half an hour watching as the sun set gradually before helping each other clamber down carefully to the ground. The evening air was cool and tickled their skin gently as they rejoined Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron and Percy.

"What in Merlin's name were you doing up there?" their mother demanded, "Hundreds of meters up in the air! You could have fallen!"

"Relax, mum," Bill said, "It's perfectly safe, I've been up there loads of times. I just wanted to show them the sunset. It's a beautiful view."

Mrs Weasley didn't look relaxed. She'd been more strung up about her children's safety recently, after what happened to Ginny and Bianca last year. She didn't want anything like that happening again.

"Mum, we're on holiday!" Charlie said, "It's fine, stop stressing."

Mrs Weasley humphed and didn't really fully calm until they'd returned to the villa and were tucking into their dinner. Everyone went to bed that night with smiles on their faces after a great first day.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The Weasley's followed a similar routine for most of their holiday in Egypt. Some days they stayed at home and relaxed while other times Bill would take them out to see all there was to see in Egypt. They went on camel rides and explored more pyramids, some of which Ginny wasn't allowed in and several of which Fred and George tried to shut Percy in. They also went shopping, visited ancient ruins and even went on a thrilling hot air balloon ride.

It was the best holiday ever and nobody wanted to leave. The mood on their last night was both solemn and content.

"It's alright for you," Bianca said to Bill that night when, as usual, the five gathered in one room before bed, "You don't have to go anywhere!"

"That's the problem," Bill moped, "You're all leaving me here alone!"

"How could we be so rude?" Fred said sarcastically, "Abandoning our poor brother in a hot, tropical, beautiful country with a thrilling job that he loves all on his lonesome."

"How terrible of us!" George cried, "Poor Bill, all alone while we sit at school having the time of our lives."

"Alright, alright," Bill chuckled, "But at least you have each other. The closest family member to me is Charlie, and he lives in Romania!"

"That's true," George nodded, "We usually only have to walk across the room to talk to each other, not across seas."

"See how easy you have it!" Bill cried jokingly.

"May I remind you that you chose to live here," Bianca pointed out.

"Not that we're complaining," Fred said, "We're glad you finally moved far away enough so that we can't smell you."

"Oi," Bill said, "I don't smell!"

"I beg to differ," Charlie laughed, "I've slept in the same room as you for quite a while now and I'm glad to be moving back 1300 miles away."

"Well if I knew you all felt like that, I never would have stayed with you. Then Ron might not have had to bunk with Percy. Or maybe you three wouldn't have had to share a bed."

"Awh, don't sulk, Bill," Bianca said, "I don't think you smell. Much."

Bill frowned, "Well if you all hate me that much, then I guess I'll just go to bed and leave you all here to mope about how you're all leaving tomorrow. And here, I was ready to help you pack."

The twins looked around the room, suddenly realising how much stuff they had to pack and how little time they had to do it.

"Now, Bill," Fred pleaded, "We were only joking, you know that."

"All it takes is a flick of your wand," George added, "And it'll be all done!"

Bill considered this, "Hm, you're right. Maybe I will help," he paused, "Bianca. I'll help Bianca."

"What?" the twins shouted in unison, "That's not fair!"

"It is," Bill said, "You two need putting in your place a bit."

A few seconds later, all of Bianca's possessions were packed neatly in her bag, leaving Fred and George's items strewn across the floor.

The boys turned to their other brother, "Charlie," George said, "You love us, right?"

"Of course," Charlie nodded, "But you can pack your own things up while we sit here with Bill and Bea."

For at least an hour, the twins scrambled around the room, shoving everything into their bags while their siblings laughed at them from the bed. Bianca sat squished between the two even though they had lots of space on the bed. They watched Fred and George wrestle their bags closed before flopping onto the bed in exhaustion. They crawled so Fred sat next to Charlie and George next to Bill. The five of them sat together as they had every night of their holiday and chatted and laughed until late. But unlike other nights, Bill and Charlie didn't return to their room, instead switching places with Fred and George so that they were on the edges, embracing their younger siblings as they all fell asleep.

Only one or two hours later, they were being woken up by Mrs Weasley who was storming around the house in a mad rush to tidy everything up. She insisted on everything being left exactly how they found it so was washing and wiping every surface, floor and bedsheet at least twice.

Managing on barely any sleep, the five untangled themselves from each other and clambered lazily out of the bed.

"I need a nap," George yawned, "What time is it?"

Bill checked his watch, "Seven," he replied sleepily.

"And what time did we go to sleep?" Fred mumbled.

"Five?" Bill guessed.

They all groaned.

"Come on, you can nap later," Bill said, "Let's go help mum before she washes everything so hard, she leaves holes in it."

"Does she know she can wave her wand and in two seconds everything will be back to normal?"

Yawning and groaning, the group grabbed their bags and dragged themselves down the stairs where they deposited their bags next to the door. A few hours and multiple cups of coffee later, they were ready to depart. There were emotional goodbye hugs and Ginny didn't want to let go of Bill or Charlie, but eventually, they pried her away and they all took their separate portkeys home.

When they arrived back at the Burrow, six letters were laid out on the kitchen table addressed to the children.

"I've got it!" Percy yelled suddenly, "I'm head boy!"

Fred sighed, "So Perfect Prefect Percy is now Perfect Head Boy Percy. Doesn't sound quite as catchy if you ask me."

"Fred, be quiet," Mrs Weasley scolded, "Oh, Percy, I'm so proud of you! Ron, did you hear back from Harry, dear? Will he be meeting us?"

Ron shrugged, "Yeah, I think so."

"Excellent," Mrs Weasley said, "We'll head there a week or so before school starts."

"Oh," Mr Weasley said solemnly. He'd picked up the newspaper from the kitchen table and was flicking through it, "Oh, that's not good at all."

"What is it, dad?" Percy asked, "What's happened." He leaned over to read the paper over his father's shoulder, "Oh."

"Well," Mrs Weasley came over with several mugs of steaming tea, "What is it?"

"Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban," Mr Weasley said.

If it weren't for the fact the drinks were floating beside her magically, Mrs Weasley would have dropped them all.

"Who's Sirius Black?" Fred asked.

"He's a mass murderer," Mr Weasley explained grimly, "He worked for You-Know-Who back in the war."

"He killed thirteen people with one spell," Mrs Weasley sighed, passing out the drinks, "He's very dangerous."

"I had better go to the ministry," Mr Weasley said, taking a large gulp of tea and standing up.

"Oh, Arthur, we've just got back!"

"This is important, Molly, dear, he's a very dangerous man, they'll need all the help they can get to find him."

"It's not even your department, dad!" George protested.

"I'll just pop in and see what's going on," Mr Weasley said, going around the table and giving everyone hugs and kisses, "Help your mother with unpacking and washing," he added and he was gone.

Mrs Weasley sighed, "I think we'll all have a rest before we get on with the chores."

Bianca spent the rest of the holiday before going into London, busily doing schoolwork in preparation for her O.W.L. year. The twins switched between doing their homework and thinking of ways to prank Percy for being a prat as well as being snobbish and arrogant about being Head Boy. They changed his badge so it read various messages and waited to see how long it took for him to realise.

While they were in the Leaky Cauldron, Bianca made a decision.

"I want to talk to more people," she said boldly to the twins one morning.

Fred gasped, "What?"

"I'm sick of feeling like I can't talk to anyone. It makes me feel stupid and vulnerable. Everyone thinks I'm a wuss! I'm not three years old. It's also a right pain in the ass in class when I don't understand something."

George shrugged, "Ok."

Fred nodded, "Fair enough."

"That's it?" Bianca said.

"What else do you want us to say?" George asked.

"Exactly, you want to talk to more people, then talk to more people."

"It's not that easy," Bea said, "You both know that."

"Well what do you want us to do?"

"Help me," Bianca said, "Make me talk to people."

Fred got up, "No one thinks you're a wuss, by the way. Most people understand it's a real problem."

"It shouldn't be though," Bianca walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" George asked.

"To talk to Ron and Percy."

And so, she did. For the first few minutes, the boys looked at her like she was mad and it was very much a one-sided conversation as they were too shocked to respond.

"Well," Bianca said, "It was nice talking to you, I'll be off."

They just gaped at her and she continued, "Oh, and Percy, you might want to check your badge."

Mrs Weasley beamed at her proudly as she passed.

The rest of the year, Bianca worked very hard on improving her social skills. She started off just chatting quietly to people in the common room and gradually escalated to taking part in large group discussions at dinner and even contributing in classes. There were, of course, some people she still found herself unable to speak to, no matter how hard she tried. It was like there was a barrier around her voice box, preventing any sound from coming out. There were also some days or situations which she struggled in. For example, when Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw in Quidditch and suddenly half the school seemed to be swarming around the team to congratulate them.

She was extremely unnerved by the escape of Sirius Black and the presence of the dementors. When they had invaded the train on the way to school at the start of the year, she'd reacted the worse out of her friends. She found herself shaking and trembling, unable to speak to even the twins, and spent the remainder of the journey snuggled into Fred's chest with his arm around her. She had horrible images flashing through her mind of flashes of light, horrible screaming and death. George had guessed it must just have been her anxiety reacting to the dementors, while Lee had said it might have been something to do with her past seeing as she had got a lot less anxious as she had got older. Bianca had ignored them both, unable to think of anything except the horrible, miserable, drained feeling that had engulfed her. She did her best to avoid the dementors for the rest of the year, choosing instead to focus on her exam work instead.

She was glad Dumbledore seemed to have found a competent Defence Against the Dark Arts professor so she now felt much more confident that she'd actually pass that exam. It was slightly disappointing that Fred and George had decided to give Harry the Marauder's Map, but they knew where all the secret passages were and had found that Bianca was surprisingly good at talking them out of situations, so if they were going to run into anyone unexpected, their punishment would be lessened.

"Honestly, I don't know why you didn't speak earlier," Fred said when they'd narrowly missed getting a detention from a prefect because they were out after curfew.

"I enjoyed seeing you getting into trouble and not doing anything about it," Bianca joked.

"Huh," Fred sighed, "All these years we thought you were so innocent."

"Gone are the days we get you out of detention," George said.

"Can I remind you that _I_ just got _you_ out of detention?" Bianca supplied.

But the three continued to look out for each other. The boys were there immediately when Sirius Black broke into the school, knowing that Bianca would be spooked, and could always tell when she wasn't in the mood to talk to people so they could easily get her out of the situation.

When it got closer to summer, the fifth years had very little time for anything except work and, in some cases, Quidditch- Wood was still determined to win the cup. Their exams grew nearer and they spent more and more time revising and doing work, staying up late into the night and sneaking down into the kitchens for multiple coffees. The exams went well. Fred and George kept making jokes about how they at least hoped they'd passed one exam each but Bianca knew they wanted to do well in reality. They had a celebratory party after their last exam in the kitchens. The house elves were more than happy to supply them with food and drinks.

They were all shocked and devastated when they found out Professor Lupin had resigned and was a werewolf. He'd been the best Defence professor they'd ever had and, as they found out a few weeks later by owl post, had got them through their exams with flying colours. Bianca suspected the twins were a little disappointed with their results, but put smiles on and told themselves that it didn't matter because they had enough for their N.E.W.T.s and seeing as they'd have their own shop, they didn't need to worry about what employees thought.

Throughout the summer, Bianca, George and Fred spent a lot of time in their room working on products. They had decided to start work on them now that exams were out of the way and their first invention was a Ton-Tongue Toffee. They had done all the preparation charms at school, seeing as they wouldn't be able to do legally at the Burrow, and just used their cauldrons to mix their ingredients. Once or twice they had to steal Percy's wand to do a couple of charms and their safety spells which they always used as a precaution to make sure that they wouldn't die when eating the product. Too scared to test it on each other at home where Mrs Weasley would find out, they hid the sweets, waiting for the perfect opportunity to use them.

When they got tickets to go to the Quidditch World Cup, there was much excitement in the Burrow. Bill and Charlie would be coming and Ron invited Ron and Hermione because otherwise, they'd have no chance of going. Everyone was in very high spirits in anticipation of the match.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The twins were in a foul mood. They'd been so happy when Bill and Charlie had arrived and were so excited to have the house full of people again. They'd been pranking Percy all summer because he was so snooty about his new job at the Ministry and he'd fallen for all of them. But then, Mrs Weasley had found out about their products and everything had been ruined. Their payback on Dudley Dursley had been a success, but had spiralled into a huge argument with their parents. And now Fred and George were furious. They stormed up to their room to gather some things because Bill and Charlie were staying there, meaning the twins were bunking with Ron and Harry and Bianca would be sharing with Ginny and Hermione.

"She lets Bill go to Egypt and risk his life breaking deadly curses. She lets Charlie go to Romania and risk his life working with dragons," Fred fumed, "But we aren't allowed to open our own shop!"

"Just because we didn't get the O.W.L.s she wanted us and didn't get to be Prefects, we're just inadequate to everyone else, I suppose!"

"We have to remake everything!" Fred growled, flopping down onto his bed, "Everything!"

"Hey, at least we know that the toffees work," Bianca said, "So now we can make loads at school and mum can't do anything about it. And everyone knows that you didn't get made prefects because there's two of you and they need a boy and a girl."

"I think George is feminine enough," Fred said nonchalantly.

"I do have beautiful curves," George agreed, posing, "And luscious hair."

Bianca rolled her eyes, "Here was me, trying to make you feel better. I'll just let you sulk, then."

"I just can't believe she'd do something like that! She's always telling us we need to work harder- as if we don't work- and then when we can actually prove we put effort into something, she bins it all!"

"Well it'll just be all the more impressive when you have an entire shop full of your own products!" Bianca encouraged, "Come on, stop moping! This has been your dream for years, don't give up just because mum put some sweets in the bin."

"Not just any sweets!" George cried, "The first ever successful prototypes!"

"And she cleaned the room and got rid of everything else."

"Everything?" Bianca said. She walked over to her clothes drawers, dumped all of her tops and trousers onto the floor and peeled back the base of the drawer to reveal all the important notes they'd made as well as a few first samples for products. "I don't think she got it all, maybe I'll go and grab her and let her know."

George grabbed her around the waist, lifted her up and spun her around. When he'd put her down, Fred grabbed her face and kissed her on the forehead which made her heart flutter a little. She ignored it and explained about the precautionary charms protecting them from their mother.

"You are a godsend!" George cried.

"What would we do without you?"

They joined everyone in the garden to set up for dinner, putting smiles on their faces to cover their anger,

The twins were still a bit grumpy with their mum, who continued to be rude to them and snap right up until they left to go to the Quidditch Cup. No one appreciated getting up at the crack of dawn to walk through the countryside but at least they were welcomed into the kitchen happily and with a warm smile, unlike Fred and George who were treated slightly coolly and checked again for any products they happened to have saved. She confiscated all of the sweets in their pockets angrily and didn't bother to give them a hug as they left. Bianca tried to improve their glum moods as they trudged to the portkey and it seemed she had succeeded until they found out they'd be travelling with Cedric Diggory which made them frown again.

They took their time settling into their campsite. Bianca and Ginny claimed their beds in the girls' tents while Hermione was out getting water with Ron and Harry before joining everyone else outside to try and make a fire. When Ron, Harry and Hermione had returned and Bill, Charlie and Percy had arrived, they tucked into their breakfast happily.

Not long later, Fred and George had seized their chance with Ludo Bagman, betting all their pocket money, and some of Bianca's, on the outcome of the match. Later, as they were heading to the game, Bianca bought the boys both a little souvenir seeing as they'd used all of their money on betting. She made sure to reserve some for pranking supplies throughout the year which they would, of course, be needing.

The group climbed and climbed to get to their seats but it was so worth it. Bianca sat between Bill and Fred and the pair often shared excited glances. Bea particularly enjoyed the mascot performances, but of course spent the entire match on the edge of her seat due to the thrill. The boys on either side of her were very enthusiastic, yelling and screaming. Bianca giggled at their enchantment at the Veelas and danced in celebration with the twins when their predicted outcome became a reality. They scrambled up to claim their money from Bagman and promised their dad as they returned to the tents that they wouldn't tell their mum.

They sat together for hours verbally replaying the match moment by exhilarating moment, but when Ginny fell asleep at the table, spilling her hot chocolate everywhere that Mr Weasley sent them all to bed. Bianca hugged Fred and George before ducking out of the boys' tents and scurrying into hers with Hermione and Ginny. The campsite was loud and surprisingly bright for the middle of the night which kept them awake for a little while but it didn't take too long for the girls to fall asleep to the soft bangs of fireworks and celebration.

Bianca jerked awake. She was sure the celebrations were getting louder- shouldn't they be dying down as the night went on? But she started to panic as screams wound their way into her ears. They didn't sound like screams of joy or excitement. There was no singing or chanting any more and from the sounds of it, people were running. She sat up, but it was too dark in the tent to see anything properly.

Only a few minutes later, Mr Weasley was bursting into the tent, yelling at them to get up and pulling on a jacket.

"Quickly, girls," he shouted, "There's no time for that Ginny!" he said as Ginny reached for her clothes, "Get out, now!"

Bianca hurried from the tent and ran straight to Fred and George who were looking at something behind her in horror. She turned and gasped. A family of muggles were suspended in mid-air, being paraded above the heads of a group of cloaked, masked wizards.

Mr Weasley told the group to stick together and raced off after Bill, Charlie and Percy who were already on their way to help the ministry. Fred grabbed Ginny's hand and George took Bianca's and they made their way through the crowds. Bea was trailing behind George slightly, getting pushed by people running past and yanked in all directions. She was so scared and sweaty that she struggled to keep a hold of George's hand.

Eventually, the violence of the crowd caused her to lose her anchor. Her hand broke away from George's and she was spun and pushed away from him by the stampede of people. She could hear George shouting at the others to stop and get her, but over the roar of crowd's feet and the screams and cries, no one heard and he had no choice but to continue without her.

Bianca meanwhile was forced in the opposite direction and out to the edge of the crowds before being completely separated from all people seemingly hours later. Knowing the rest of her family was headed to the woods, she waited for most of the people to flee before making her way in their direction carefully, with her wand held out before her. The night air was eerily still. There was a cool breeze despite the fires blazing in the distance. Bianca briefly considered heading back to the tents instead, but she didn't know what was going on at the campsite and she'd know that if there was no one in the forest, she could head back to re-join everyone else at the tents.

Suddenly, her wand was flying away from her and she was being forced to the ground by some invisible force. Her heart rate increased about a hundred times faster within milliseconds and before she knew it, she was surrounded by towering people in black hoods and cloaks. She was convinced that that was it. That she'd never see Fred or George again. That they'd kill her on the spot. But they just looked at her.

"This is the one," one of the figures sneered, "Let's get it over with."

"Such a shame," another said, "Dying without knowing."

"Get it over with," yet another new voice snapped, "Nothing can interfere."

Bianca gasped as a horrifying symbol appeared in the sky above them. A horrible green skull, complete with a serpent for a tongue was projected above them.

"Quickly," a voice urged, "Before they arrive."

Bianca had been desperately trying to follow who was speaking while also concealing her fear of the mark in the clouds.

"Wait," she squeaked as one of the dark figures lifted their wand, "What don't I know?"

The people all laughed as if she were absolutely hilarious. One of them stepped forward and kneeled down so they were at her level. His silver mask was intimidatingly close to her face so she could see every engraved detail of it and smell the metal stench of it.

"So many things," he said slowly and dangerously, "But none of it matters because you'll be dead."

"If you're going to kill me, then you might as well tell me," Bianca said quickly, suddenly thankful she'd spent all of the previous year building up her confidence to talk in different situations, "I'll die anyway."

"We don't have the time for this! She's bluffing, thinking up some plan to escape. Kill her!"

"If only you knew the amount of trouble you could cause if you were to live," the figure in front of her face sneered. He stood and wrapped an arm around her neck, trapping her against his body. She struggled and grabbed hold of his arm with both hands. The man whispered in her ear, "We could tell you all about your past, you know. We could tell you who your parents are. It's unfortunate you have to die."

Bianca smirked, "Shame," she said.

The figure didn't even have time to be confused. She landed a swift kick right where it hurts, used her grip on his arm to twist it behind the man's back and push him away, ducking under his arm and grabbing his wand in the process. Miraculously, she fought off all the men for a good few minutes. It didn't take long though, once they'd recovered from the shock of her bid for freedom, for her to be overpowered. She'd lost the wand and was hit by several spells before one called for them to stop.

"We've wasted too much time. Stop messing around and kill her!"

Bianca closed her eyes, satisfied she'd at least put up a good fight before dying. She was still filled with adrenaline so didn't feel any of the pain or effects from the spells which had found their mark in the duel. She braced herself for the impact, silently saying goodbye to all her family and friends, but the curse never came. There were shouts in the distance of dozens of people flooding out of the forest.

The figures cursed, seeing the ministry members emerge in the distance. They didn't have time now to kill her and escape while leaving no traces of their presence to begin with and one by one, the figures disappeared into the night.

Bianca sat on the muddy ground, taking deep breaths to steady herself before forcing herself to stand so she could get back to everyone before the pain and exhaustion hit her. It would be suicide to go to the forest because she knew she wouldn't have the energy to find her way back of no one was there. So instead she headed back to the campsite.

She stumbled into the tent in time to hear Fred cry frantically, "Can we stop talking about stupid house elves and go and find Bianca? You go out looking for Ron but are happy to sit here and have a chat while Bianca is still missing?"

"Now, Fred," Mr Weasley said, "She's a tough girl, she'll-"

"Find her way back?" Bianca guessed.

She was immediately engulfed by Fred and George. They wrapped their arms around her in a huge hug, unwilling to let go. Bianca could see Bill nursing a bleeding arm with a sheet and Charlie observing a large rip in his shirt curiously.

"What happened?" Fred demanded, "Are you ok?"

"I'm so sorry," George blabbered, "I couldn't get to you, there were so many people and-"

"It's fine," Bea interrupted, moving to hug Mr Weasley, "I'm fine. Dad just said it, I'm tough."

"You're covered in bruises and scratches and-"

"George! I'm fine, ok," she very briefly explained what had happened but listened silently to the rest of their conversation about Death Eaters, wands and the Dark Mark. George kept glancing at her guiltily, and Fred rubbed circles on her back gently. Everyone had been impressed with how she'd handled her life-threatening situation but no one had any answers as to why it had happened or why she'd been singled out.

It was with much reluctance that Bianca left the boys' tent that night to return to her own with Hermione and Ginny. In times like these, she didn't want to leave the twins' side and, despite her exhaustion, she didn't sleep- lying awake, staring at the ceiling and trying to piece together in her mind and understand what happened.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: There are lots of injury and ending up in hospital wing moments in this year of the story (GoF). I apologise for that and get that it might be a bit repetitive or irritating but it's necessary to the story and its just for this time period. Please bear with the consistant ailments, I'll try to keep it interesting. :D

Chapter 23

The rest of the family were woken by Mr Weasley while it was still dark. He gave Bianca a sympathetic glance, clearly understanding from her open eyes and appearance that she hadn't slept, before shaking awake Ginny and Hermione.

They left their tent to see Bill and Charlie using magic to collapse and put away the boys' tent. It didn't take long for Mr Weasley to pack up the tents and for them to hurry away. After a hurried negotiation with a ministry colleague, they were getting a portkey back to Stoatshead Hill and hurried along the track to the Burrow. They were met part way by Mrs Weasley who was in a terrible state.

"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness!" she seemed to do a silent headcount to make sure everyone was there. She brandished a copy of the Daily Prophet which no doubt was full of stories from the horrors of the night before. She blubbed about how worried she'd been before taking Fred and George into a huge hug.

"I shouted at you before you left! It's all I've been thinking about!" she cried, "What if You-Know-Who got you and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s?"

She was completely hysterical. Mr Weasley soothed her, reassuring her that everyone was fine, sending everyone a pointed look not to mention what had happened to Bianca. At least not until she had calmed down.

They gathered in the kitchen, huddled around the newspaper. Thankfully in her frantic state of relief, Mrs Weasley hadn't noticed the grazes and bruises which covered Bianca, let alone the slices in her clothing. A lot of the bruises had become much more tender overnight and she winced in pain at the littlest movements and flinched when someone brushed past her. Fred seemed to be attached to her side constantly and George, who also wasn't too far away, looked permanently guilty. Bianca was too tired to tell him for what would feel like the hundredth time that it wasn't his fault.

Once Mr Weasley and Percy had rushed off to the Ministry and the boys had gone out to play a quick game of Quidditch, Bianca settled down in the living room with Mrs Weasley, Hermione and Ginny with drinks and snacks.

"Oh girls," Mrs Weasley kept sighing, "Oh girls, I can't believe it. I was so worried! I can't believe it."

"It's alright mum," Ginny said reassuringly, "We're all alright. We look after each other."

"And aren't I lucky that you did," Mrs Weasley rubbed her eyes tiredly, "Couldn't sleep at all once I found up. I thought I'd stay up to find out who won, but I wasn't expecting to hear that there was an attack like that. At least you're all alright and no one got hurt."

"You must be very tiredly, Mrs Weasley," Hermione said politely, "Why don't you have a rest and we'll sort out cooking breakfast."

"Breakfast!" Mrs Weasley cried, "I should have had it ready for you all coming back!"

"Don't be silly, mum," Ginny said, helping her mother up and leading her towards the stairs, "Go up to bed, we'll make breakfast and bring you something up."

Mrs Weasley allowed Ginny to lead her up the stairs, all the way muttering about how fortunate she was.

Bianca yawned and hauled herself to her feet, grimacing slightly, "Come on then, let's get cooking."

"Maybe you should go up to bed too," Hermione said.

"I'm fine," Bianca brushed her off, "We're all tired but there are six hungry boys out there who'll be grumpy if they don't get fed."

They set about cooking bacon and eggs and Ginny returned a few minutes later, complaining.

"She's completely mad! Won't even let us cook breakfast! Keeps fussing about how we could have died and making sure we all stuck together and didn't get hurt. I had to get a calming draught out of the bathroom cabinet to get her to shut up."

Hermione looked at her sceptically but said nothing and asked Ginny to get some plates out. Bianca was about to head out to fetch the boys, when Hermione stopped her.

"I'll go," she offered.

Bianca sighed, "I'm not completely incapable, you know."

"No, but you're hurt and I don't want you to get worse until someone can heal everything. You can't walk a few steps without wincing or crying out, don't pretend you can go all the way to the back field to fetch the boys and back. Besides I don't know where anything is in this kitchen and you've lived here for years."

Bianca scowled and continued cooking the breakfast. She put some bread on to toast and stirred the eggs, all the while stifling yawns and thinking about what had happened the previous night. She was so distracted that she didn't notice that the bacon was burning so badly it was actually on fire until Ginny was shouting her name and rushing to remove the pan from the heat. Luckily, Hermione was just returning with the boys and Bill rushed over to put out the flaming bacon.

"What happened?" he demanded in concern, "What did the bacon do to you?"

"I'm sorry," Bianca stuttered, "I got distracted."

"Maybe I should have let you go to get the boys," Hermione mumbled and Bianca glared at her.

"Look, I said I'm sorry alright!" Bianca said, "I didn't mean to burn breakfast, I was just- I was trying to help but-"

"Hey, it's ok," Bill said, "I'll help Ginny finish breakfast, why don't you go and sit down."

Bianca sunk down into a seat at the kitchen table next to Fred. She crossed her arms and buried her face in the crook of her elbow. She was tired, she was achy and she was scared. Those 'Death Eaters' had been after her specifically and she didn't know why. They wanted to kill her, but she was clueless about their reasoning. She'd been cornered and attacked, alone and vulnerable. There had to be a reason. Why did she need to die? What could she have interfered with? How did those men know who she was?

Fred placed a hand gently on her back and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "You know, I prefer my bacon on the crispy side."

Bianca laughed quietly but soon broke down into tears. She'd been pushing down all her emotions since the attack at the match and now it was overwhelming. George pointedly suggested that Ron and Harry should go and see if the others needed any help and waited until they had left to move around the table with Charlie to sit with Bea.

"It was just a bit of bacon, Bea," George said, "The pig was already dead."

Bianca sniffed and giggled, but didn't look up. She stayed stubbornly with her face hidden in her arms. Charlie sat up on the table, swinging his legs and George took the seat on the other side of Bianca.

"I just want to know why," she sniffled quietly.

"Why what?"

"Why they wanted to kill me so badly. I mean, I'm not exactly threatening, am I?"

"Oh terrifying," George said with a fake shudder. Charlie smacked him on the head.

"Why does everyone seem to know who I am, except me?" Bianca cried sitting up and wiping tears from her eyes.

"They don't know who you are," Charlie said, "They might know who your parents are, but they don't shape you."

Bianca smiled at him half-heartedly.

Fred and George made gagging noises, "You soppy mess, Charlie," Fred laughed.

"I'm being more helpful than you two," Charlie retorted.

"It's fine," Bianca grabbed a tissue, dabbed her eyes and put on a smile, "I'm just tired."

"Do you want me to ask mum where she keeps all the healing stuff?" George asked, studying her injuries.

"And send her into a frenzy because we didn't all escape completely unharmed?" Bianca scoffed, "No thanks, Ginny only just calmed her down."

"Bill might know where they are," Fred suggested, "I'll go-"

"It's fine, Fred. Honestly. They're just a few scratches."

She took a minute to calm herself before the others entered with breakfast which thankfully included unburnt bacon.

"Just in case anyone wanted their food a little bit less… on fire," Bill joked, placing the plates on the table and winking at Bianca.

"What did you do with the ashes of Bianca's attempt?" Fred joked.

"Ashes? There weren't any ashes left it was so burnt," Bill responded.

"I don't think that's how ashes work, Bill," Hermione pointed out.

Bill laughed and sighed before grabbing a plate to take upstairs to his mum. He returned a few minutes later announcing, "She's coming down. She feels guilty about leaving us to cook breakfast alone- wants to help clean up."

"We aren't all as incompetent as Bianca," George said.

"Oh, come on! It was one portion of bacon!" Bianca protested.

"One perfectly good portion of bacon," Fred said.

"Until you burnt it," George said.

Bianca stuck her tongue out at the twins and tucked into her scrambled eggs. She decided she didn't want any bacon.

Mrs Weasley emerged from the stairs a few seconds later and bustled into the kitchen with her empty plate. She paused as she got to the table.

"What's that smell?" she asked, sniffing the air.

"Bianca set fire to the kitchen," Fred said simply.

"Not the whole kitchen!" Bianca protested.

"My deepest apologies," Fred corrected, "Bianca set fire to part of the kitchen."

Mrs Weasley turned to Bea, "What on Earth happened, dear?"

"I got distracted and burnt the bacon. I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't worry, it's just some bacon," she looked at Bianca, "Why are you all scratched and beaten up?"

"There was just a bit of a scrap at the match yesterday in all the crowds," Bianca said.

"You're hurt!" Mrs Weasley was outraged.

"No, not hurt, just-"

But that was it. Bianca was pulled to her feet and ushered into the kitchen. Mrs Weasley was ordering her to roll up her sleeves so she could see the extent of the damage. In a few seconds, she was shoving various potions down her throat and covering the scrapes in salves. The pain eased immediately and before she knew it, Bianca was being shoved back into the living room and pushed onto the sofa.

"Rest," Mrs Weasley ordered, "You're exhausted," she looked into the kitchen at the others, "All of you. Bed."

Fred and George joined Bianca on sofas, not fancying sleeping on the floor in Ron's room seeing as Bill and Charlie had gone up to theirs again. They huddled together on the largest seat, thankful Mrs Weasley hadn't asked too many questions and ready for a few hours rest. Bianca found it much easier to drift off when she was wrapped in the twins' arms than it had been in the tent the previous night and soon, she was fast asleep with her head resting on Fred's chest and practically sitting in George's lap.

She woke a few hours later to Bill, Fred and George talking in hushed voices.

"She was scared," George said, "Anyone would be if a group of creepy men tried to kill them."

"You can't blame her for wanting to know why it happened," Fred agreed.

"Why what happened?" Mrs Weasley's voice entered the conversation.

Bianca felt Fred sigh and Bill groan.

"Come on, tell me."

Bill explained with reluctance about how Bianca had been separated and what had happened. She could feel one of the twins stroking her hair gently.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Bianca could imagine her mum sitting in an armchair with a hand over her mouth in shock.

"You were already upset," Bill said kindly, "We didn't want to worry you more."

Mrs Weasley sighed and looked at her watch, "Why don't you boys get some more rest before your dad gets back with Percy. I'll cook something nice for dinner, shall I?"

"As long as it's not bacon," George joked.

Bill followed Mrs Weasley out of the room and Fred and George entered a quiet discussion about their joke shop and the products they could develop a school. They'd redesigned order forms and sent letters out to those whose orders had been lost with their deepest apologies about the delay. Fred shifted slightly, allowing Bianca to snuggle further into his jumper. George raised an eyebrow at them and curled up into the armrest, closing his eyes. Fred smiled slightly and wrapped his arms around his unofficial triplet.

After a few more hours rest, Bianca woke again to an empty sofa. It was raining heavily outside so she deduced the boys must be somewhere in the house. She groggily got to her feet, stretched and headed into the kitchen where she located Fred, George, Bill and Mrs Weasley.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"Still asleep, I guess. They haven't come down yet," Bill said, "How're you feeling?"

Bianca scowled, "For the hundredth time, I'm fine."

Mrs Weasley turned from whatever cooking she was doing. As always after taking a nap in the day, Bianca was completely disorientated and didn't know what time it was. Her mum could be cooking lunch or dinner or even just a mid-day snack.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry about what happened," Mrs Weasley gushed, "I simply can't believe it!"

"I had to make her at least three more Firewhiskey teas to calm her down," Bill said with a wink.

"It's fine, mum. It's not your fault," Bianca insisted, getting herself a glass of water.

"I wish I knew why they picked on you!"

"It doesn't matter," Bea said with a smile, trying to convince not only Mrs Weasley but also herself, "It happened, we can move on now."

"But what if-"

"Mum," Bill interrupted, "It's alright. She'll be going to Hogwarts soon. There's no safer place."

"Well not necessarily this year," Mrs Weasley mumbled quietly.

"What's happening at school, mum?" Fred asked eagerly, "Why can't you tell us?"

"Because you'll find out soon with everyone else and that's much more exciting."

Bianca had guessed by now that Mrs Weasley must be cooking dinner because of how dark it was outside.

"When will dad be back with Percy?" she asked.

Mrs Weasley sighed angrily, "Merlin only knows," she said glancing at the clock on the wall. Bianca had always been slightly jealous that she didn't have a spoon on their special clock, but it was enchanted, not hand-made and seeing as she wasn't actually related by blood to the Weasley's, she'd never got her own spoon. It wasn't really an issue, she was usually wherever Fred and George were but still, she always thought it would have been nice to be included.

For the next few days, Mr Weasley and Percy's spoons remained stubbornly on 'work', which Mrs Weasley found more and more irritating as time went on.

The evening before they were set to return to Hogwarts, Mrs Weasley had sent them all up to check they'd packed everything properly. She came in with all their clean robes folded up neatly.

"Mum, what're these?" Fred asked, holding up a rather strange pair of dress robes.

"Dress robes," Mrs Weasley replied.

"What for?" George asked, studying his own.

"I don't know, but they where on your list so here you are."

Once she'd left, the twins turned to Bill and Charlie who were keeping them company while they packed.

"You two know what's happening, you'll tell us, right?" George pleaded.

"They certainly will not!" Mrs Weasley shouted through the door.

Bill and Charlie laughed, but Bianca wasn't listening. She was staring in wonder at her own addition to her robes. Thankfully, she didn't have the frilly monstrosities which Fred and George were given, but instead had a beautiful, flowy pale purple knee-length dress, embellished with small diamonds and with a lace layer over the silky underskirts. She also had some slip-on silver ballet pumps to match. They were a beautiful pair and Bianca was desperate to know where her mum had got them from. She carefully but quickly placed them in her trunk before any of the boys could see it. Doubtless they'd tease if they caught sight of such a thing, and Bianca wasn't really in the mood.

Fred and George gave up convincing- or trying to convince- Bill and Charlie to tell them what was so exciting about this year at Hogwarts and Fred turned his attention to shoving as many Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks into his case as he possibly could. They were all a bit glum and didn't really want to go back to school. They'd been enjoying having the whole family back together again in the house and, as excited as they were to find out what was going on at school, they didn't want to leave.

The next morning was as chaotic as usual. Ginny, Hermione and Bianca got up fairly early to get ready, but the boys were much later coming down. Mr Weasley rushed off to work after his urgent call from Amos Diggory so Mrs Weasley had been left to brave the muggle village nearby alone to order some taxis to take them to King's Cross. It was a fairly eventful journey, what with Fred's case popping open and his wet-start fireworks exploding everywhere which caused Crookshanks to have a fit and scratch everyone in that car to pieces. The muggle taxi drivers weren't overly impressed with this, but Mrs Weasley paid them well and rushed everyone onto the platform. After one final attempt to find out what was happening at school, the group were forced onto the train and were off to school once again.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The Triwizard Tournament sent Hogwarts into uproar. For a month until the other schools arrived, it was all anyone talked about.

"What do you think, Bea?" Fred said one evening when he and George were researching ageing potions with their friends, "Would you do it?"

Bianca scoffed, "Of course not. You know I'd hate the attention. Imagine, three life-threatening trials in front of three full schools."

"That's what makes it so fun! Dangerous tasks are much more entertaining than ones which pose no risk what-so-ever."

"I suppose that's why they have the age restriction," Angelina said, "I know I'm going for it."

"Ah the age restriction," George sighed, "So simple."

"And yet so challenging," Fred finished as he cast aside yet another useless book.

"There's another thing," Bianca said, "I don't even know if I'm old enough, remember. I might not be able to enter even if I wanted to, which I don't."

However, the tournament was not the only thing Fred and George were angry about.

"All of it! Every penny, gone!" George cried.

"The dirty, lying git!" Fred said.

"That slimy cow! We should have seen it coming. Stupid, slippery, horrible, untrustworthy-"

"What's wrong?" Bianca interrupted, sitting down next to them in the far corner of the common room.

"That Bagman played us!" George cried.

"He paid us in Leprechaun gold!" Fred said in frustration, "There's not a sickle left!"

"Nothing?" Bianca repeated in shock, "Why that little-"

"We're writing a strongly-worded letter to our friend Mr Bagman. We needed that money!"

Their first lesson with Mad-Eye Moody was also very interesting. He seemed very interested in Bianca, which naturally no one else noticed except her. Perhaps she was merely paranoid? She was slightly unnerved, but also extremely impressed by their new teacher's skills. Fred and George raved about him for hours on end, not at all bothered by the slightly disturbing knowledge he seemed to possess. Admittedly, he was pretty cool, but still, he seemed… off.

On the 30th October, the other European schools arrived at Hogwarts, cutting their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson half an hour short. This disappointed a lot of people, but they were also very impatient to get the tournament started properly.

Professor Moody stopped Bianca as the class was leaving.

"Are you thinking of entering?" he demanded gruffly.

Bianca stumbled on her words, finding it difficult to speak. She looked at him blankly.

"The tournament, girl. Are you putting your name in?"

In? What a curious turn of phrase. Bianca shook her head.

"Shame," he said, "You'd do well."

Bianca nodded and scurried from the classroom to catch up with Fred and George. She told them what had happened and they shrugged and joined the rest of the school outside the entrance hall.

The impressive entrances of their guests were certainly something to remember.

"I wish we could have a cool entrance like that," Fred said.

Bianca looked at him, "We don't have to enter anywhere. We're already here."

"We could enter the Great Hall," George suggested.

"Yeah, we could ride Hagrid's flobberworms like horses."

"And brandish our wands like swords."

"We'd charge into the hall in perfect formation."

"Can flobberworms charge?" Bianca asked but the ignored her.

"And then line up across the front on our intimidating steeds."

"And scare the others so much that they won't even enter and the Hogwarts champion naturally wins."

"What happened to the dangerous challenges?" Bianca pointed out.

"They can still do those for fun," Fred clarified.

"Of course they can," Bianca muttered.

The twins listened intently to Dumbledore's explanation of his Age Line and the Goblet of Fire and ran off as soon as he'd finished to brew a simple ageing potion. Bianca watched them in despair.

"I don't see why they made the limit an age," George said, "I mean, Angelina's seventeen, but she's had the same amount of magical training as us and we're only sixteen. Why not say you have to be in sixth year or above?"

"Dumbledore can't very well draw an Age Line for how many years you've been at school," Alicia pointed out.

"He's the most powerful wizard in the world," Fred said, "I'm sure he could if he really wanted."

"It's probably about maturity as well," Angelina said, "Anyone could see how much more sensible I am than you too even if they were blind!"

"If you think we're suddenly going to become all serious and studious once we've turned seventeen, you're severely mistaken," George retorted, "Besides, we can be mature when we want to be."

"Yeah," Fred agreed, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

"My point, exactly," Angelina laughed.

The next morning, after Fred and George tried to switch the little piece of paper with Angelina's name on it for one with their own names and failed miserably when she'd seen them, the boys took a little bit of their potions.

"Georgie," Fred said in horror, "Does this mean our birthday is no longer on the first of April?"

Angelina scoffed as the group headed down to breakfast, "That is the point of an ageing potion."

"But now what excuse do we have for pulling a ridiculous amount of pranks on our birthday?"

Bianca rolled her eyes as George joked, "Are we going to die earlier now?"

They stopped when they got to the entrance so Fred and George could put forward their plan. After they'd boasted enough to Hermione for good measure, they jumped into the circle, roaring in excitement when they weren't immediately flung back out.

The magic wasn't fooled for long, however, and it wasn't long before they were flying across the room and sprouting full-length, white beards. Everyone laughed, and it was with some reluctance that the twins went up to the hospital wing to have them removed. Bianca stayed to watch Angelina put her name in without growing any facial hair.

Alicia and Bianca stepped up to congratulate her and entered the great hall for breakfast. The rest of the Gryffindors who were already tucking into their food also wished her luck.

"You're braver than I am," Alicia said, taking her seat.

Bianca nodded in agreement, "I don't know why you'd want to do something so crazy."

"I'm a Gryffindor, remember?" Angelina smiled.

"So are we," Bianca reminded her, "But we aren't putting ourselves up for almost certain death." She shivered at the thought.

Fred and George joined them a little while later, completely beardless.

"Shame really," Fred sighed, "I quite liked it."

"I thought they suited us very well."

"You looked like mini-Dumbledore's," Alicia said.

"So?" George demanded, "Think of all the pranks we could have pulled, walking around school pretending to be Dumbledore!"

"Yeah, I'm sure no one would have thought it suspicious that the headmaster suddenly decided to die his hair ginger," Bianca said.

"Not a bad idea, I must admit," a voice said behind her. She turned to see none other than Professor Dumbledore standing behind her. "Although I don't think I'd pull it off quite as well as you two do."

"Thank you, sir," Fred and George said together.

Dumbledore reached across them, grabbed a slice of toast and left, the bread between his teeth.

The group spent the rest of the day imagining what it would be like if Angelina was the Hogwarts champion and guessing at what the trials would be.

They gathered in the hall that night with the air buzzing in excitement and anticipation. The students were crammed in so they could be as close to the goblet as possible and waited impatiently for the names to be revealed.

The lights were dimmed and the Goblet burned a deep red. A small piece of parchment fluttered out the top amongst the sparks and landed in Dumbledore's hand.

"The champion for Durmstrang will be," he paused and read the name, "Viktor Krum!"

Nobody was surprised, but there was still an eruption of cheers. Everyone, even the muggleborns knew by now who he was and how famous he was. The champion for Beauxbatons was Fleur Delacour, a suspiciously pretty and annoyingly snooty girl who flounced to the front surrounded by polite applause. Not all of her peers looked all too impressed. She and Viktor vanished into a chamber at the back of the hall.

"And finally," Dumbledore shouted, "The Hogwarts champion is-"

Everyone looked at Angelina with their fingers crossed. But Dumbledore didn't continue for a good few seconds. This as a much longer pause than he'd given to either of the other champions. He stared at the paper, brow creased slightly and called out, "Bianca, of Gryffindor."

Silence. Bianca's heart raced at a million beats per second. There was a mistake, she'd heard him wrong. She had to have. Fred squeezed her hand gently and she shook her head. Her knees trembled, she doubted she could get all the way to the back of the hall. Her friends were gaping at her, not knowing what to think. Fred helped her to her feet and somehow, she managed to make her way to Dumbledore. She was well aware that she had tears streaming down her face and was also more than aware that everyone was watching her. But they were all cheering. Of course, no one except those who really knew her would know that this was everything she never wanted. They thought she was a proud champion like the other two. They cheered and whooped for her happily. They thought she was glad. Her headmaster looked at her with a perfect poker face. Bianca walked past him, trying to hold her head up with dignity, and entered the chamber she'd seen Viktor Krum and Fleur Delacour go into before. She stayed by the door for a second, listening to the cheers die down and Dumbledore shout, "Excellent! Well now we have our three champions…"

She didn't want to hear any more. It was real. She was a Triwizard champion. She was absolutely horrified. She'd be doing these tasks in front of hundreds of people. She didn't like crowds, she didn't like attention. She just wanted to fit in and watch the tournament with her friends.

But she was even more horrified when Harry Potter joined them in the chamber. One look at his pale, shocked face told her everything she needed to know. Fleur thought he was here to convey a message, but Harry had nothing to say as he opened and closed his mouth like a fish. Harry and Bianca looked at each other for a few minutes, silently having a conversation about what had just happened. Both knew the other hadn't entered. Both knew the other had no choice but to compete. And both decided there and then to look out for each other throughout. Neither of them wanted to be in this situation, but they were and they'd make sure they both got through it.

Once the teachers, Crouch and Bagman had finished discussing Harry's underage entry, Dumbledore pulled Bianca aside.

"You didn't enter," he practically told her.

"No," Bianca said, "I didn't."

Dumbledore considered this, "Do you know who entered you?"

Bianca shook her head, "Sir-" she choked.

"I know you don't want this," he interrupted her, "And neither does Harry."

Bianca looked across the room at Harry who was waiting patiently for her.

"I am sure you will do well," Dumbledore assured her, "Please do not worry."

"I don't want this," Bianca whispered.

"And I am sorry you have to have it," he raised his voice, "I suggest you go up to bed. I am sure Gryffindor want to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

"I just want to talk quickly to Mr Bagman," Bianca said, "I'll be two seconds, Harry."

She approached Bagman confidently, pushing aside the shock of what would be happening to her this year.

"Excuse me, Mr Bagman," she said, "I believe you owe my friends some money."

He looked shocked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Leprechaun gold, Mr Bagman, very clever but you made a deal. Follow through with it."

She turned and caught up to Harry. They didn't talk as they walk. Their brains were full of confusion and utter shock. They reached the portrait much quicker than they expected and Harry turned to her, "I'm sorry this has happened," he said.

"People will believe you, Harry. When you say you didn't put your name in. You have more friends than you think you do."

"At least me not putting my name in is plausible. I'm too young and someone's tried to kill me every year since I started. The same doesn't really go for you."

"I'll be fine," Bianca smiled, "Let me know if you need anything. I've got your back."

After a brief and rather sharp conversation with the Fat Lady, the pair entered the common room to enormous amounts of noise.

No one seemed to notice that Bea and Harry weren't in the mood to celebrate. By the looks of things, the twins had had a very successful trip to the kitchens. There were multiple bottles of butterbeer, jugs of pumpkin juice and several trays of food.

"Where did you all get that?" Bianca had demanded.

She could see the twins talking to Harry with smiles on their faces. They didn't look shocked, or upset like she thought they would, but instead full of joy and support. Bianca was more than surprised. She'd been expecting them to be right by her side immediately when she got back. Had it been selfish of her to assume they'd come straight over and tell her everything would be ok?

Angelina pulled her aside, "They were distraught," she explained, "Couldn't believe it. They're terrified really." She wrapped Bianca in a hug, "They know you didn't want this and they didn't either. I think they just want to cover it up and forget about it for a night."

Bianca sighed. Only Fred and George.

"I'm going to bed," she said, "Enjoy the party. Tell the boys I said goodnight,"

Angelina smiled, "I'll get Lee to take them upstairs and then I'll be up too."

Bianca nodded, pushed past all the people and flopped onto her bed without even getting changed. Tears cascaded down her face as she stared up at the ceiling. She was terrified, she was angry and she was confused. Why did this happen to her? Was this what the Death Eaters had been scared she'd interfere with?

Eventually, she hauled herself off the bed and wrote a letter home to her mum. She explained what had happened and how she felt, but also tried to reassure her and tell her everything was ok. That she'd be safe. Because she would be safe, she had to be.

When Angelina and Alicia came up a little while later, Bianca had changed into her pyjamas and crawled under the covers. She wasn't asleep but it was fairly obvious she didn't want to talk. Angelina sat on one side of her bed and Alicia on the other. They put a butterbeer and a cake on her bedside table.

"How're Fred and George?" Bianca asked, sitting up reluctantly.

"They went up to bed a while ago," Alicia said, "They wanted to speak to you, though. They're devastated."

"I'll talk to them in the morning," Bianca said, taking a bite out of the cake.

Alicia rubbed her arm reassuringly, "Everything will work out. You're brave and clever and powerful, you can do it. And who knows, you might come out of it 1000 galleons richer."

Bianca laughed, "I just want to get out alive. It feels like someone has it in for me."

Bianca fell asleep that night feeling very unsettled and the most scared she'd ever been. She didn't sleep properly as she was so disturbed by what horrors the upcoming tasks might hold. There were so many things she wanted to know. Who had put her name in and why? Was it the same person who had put Harry forward? It seemed like unanswered questions were just piling up.

First the Quidditch Cup and now the Triwizard Tournament. How many times would she end up inches from death this year? Surely she can't escape the inevitable forever.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

The next morning, Fred and George were waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. The second she stepped off the last steps, she could no longer see the rest of the common room, which was still very messy from last night's party, but instead Fred's armpit. This unexpected hug did nothing but dissolve her to tears once again. The twins shared a look and guided her to the sofa. They were joined by Lee, Angelina and Alicia a few seconds later.

None of them said anything. No one had anything to say. They were all on exactly the same page and nothing any of them could say would be helpful or surprising.

"This sucks," Lee said, "A lot."

Everyone nodded and Fred said, "Lucky you've got your own team of personal trainers, Bea."

Bianca smiled and sniffed, "You guys better be helpful."

"Damn," George said, "I was planning on just leaving you to it and watching from afar."

"Yeah, it would have been great to watch you struggle," Lee said with fake disappointment.

"But how guilty would you feel when I die in front of your very eyes and you could have done something to help?"

"Meh," George shrugged, "Maybe a little bit."

"Come on, let's go get breakfast. We can't have our little champion starving before the first task."

"That would be one way to get out of it," Bianca pretended to consider this.

"As your personal trainer number 1," Fred said officially, "I am sorry to tell you, that that would be very bad for you."

"As personal trainer number 2, I would like to confirm this and inform you that you will be eating only green food for the rest of the year."

For the next few days, Bianca was in a miserable mood although she seemed to be a little bit happier than Harry. From what she'd seen, he'd fallen out with Ron and half the school seemed to either be against him or not believe he hadn't put his name in. Bianca made sure to always give him an encouraging smile when she passed to try and make him feel better. The Slytherins had developed badges with the Hogwarts logo on them that read 'Potter Stinks' when they were pressed. Bianca found this quite funny as they obviously didn't want to support her any more than they did Harry, but still apparently had to have some way of insulting him. Every time she passed someone wearing a badge, she quietly hexed them so a horrible smell was fixed around them and it was them that stank, not Harry.

A lot more people approached her in the corridors to speak to her or congratulate her, but the more this happened, the less she wanted to talk back. To begin with, she forced a smile and thanked them, but after a few days, she resorted to simply nodding and then after over a week, she did nothing at all. It felt rude, of course, but the more and more people who told her they were rooting for her made her feel even worse and just built up the anxiety which was settling like layers of snow in the pit of her stomach. All of these people who would be cheering for her, expecting great things and a wonderful performance from their champion would just end up disappointed when that champion was slaughtered and embarrassed within a few minutes.

Mrs Weasley had written back immediately with kind words of encouragement. Apparently she'd also written to Dumbledore, expressing her horror that Bianca and Harry were being forced to compete when neither of them wanted to.

The Wand Weighing ceremony and photoshoot were also particularly painful. Poor Harry was interrogated by that cow Rita Skeeter and forced to the front of every picture. Bianca tried to hide behind Dumbledore in as many photos as she could and, not being as beautiful as Fleur or famous as Harry and Krum, she thought she had been quite successful. She tried not to grimace as the individual shots were taken; although quite clearly they were only done as an excuse to get a decent photo of Harry without anyone else getting in the way.

Bianca was getting increasingly annoyed by Ron's constant presence too. She thought it was outrageous, the way he was treating Harry. He clung to the twins constantly when he wasn't in lessons, having nowhere else to go. He accompanied them to Hogsmeade, sat with them in the common room, and joined them at meals. Bianca thought he was being very childish but didn't say anything, too worried about the first task which was looming ever nearer.

She was growing more and more worried with every passing day. With no idea what to expect from the first challenge, she thought she may as well be going into it blindfolded and walking backwards. The day before the first task, she was sitting at breakfast with the twins chatting happily and trying to push away any thoughts of the tournament, when an owl dropped a letter right into her cereal.

She fished it out and opened it. Fred and George saw her face light up and peered across to see who it was from.

The letter read:

 _To Bea,_

 _Mum told me what happened and I must admit I'm not as excited about the tournament anymore. I suppose you've had enough people telling you that you'll be amazing and all of that rubbish, and, I know you will, but I thought I'd give you a little helping hand. Go and speak to Hagrid when you have a spare hour or so and he'll explain._ He'd scribbled a little smiley face and signed it, _Love from your favourite brother, Charlie._

Fred scoffed, "He's not your favourite brother."

"Yeah," Bianca said, "Everyone knows I prefer Percy."

"I wonder why you have to go to Hagrid," George said.

Bianca shrugged, "I'll go down tonight and find out."

Hagrid seemed very happy to see her, but Bianca was more than confused when he led her into the forest. They seemed to walk for hours, deeper into the forest. Hagrid rambled on and on about how unfair the tournament was and how he was more than happy to help when Charlie wrote to him.

"Hagrid, where are we going?" Bianca said after at least ten minutes of walking.

But Hagrid didn't answer. He was watching something happening in front of them with a huge smile on his face. Bianca turned and saw why. Explosions of fire were dancing through the trees. At least thirty men were running about chaotically, trying to get four huge figures under control. Bianca realised with a gasp what they were.

Dragons.

A pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind, making her jump out of her skin.

"Guess who?" Charlie whispered into her ear. He turned to Hagrid, "Back already? You only just left."

"Well yeh said Bianca needed to see 'em, and there's not much time left to show her what with the task bein' tomorrow an all."

"Don't remind me," Bianca muttered, "Dragons? Charlie, I can't fight-"

"You don't have to fight them," Charlie said, "Only get past them. I can give you tips, don't worry. You're not meant to know about this though, so don't tell anyone."

Charlie showed her the dragons up close while they were sedated, trying to make them seem less intimidating to her.

"I'll be right on standby, in case anything goes wrong," Charlie said, when he'd told her everything he could, "You'll be amazing."

"You're about the one-hundredth person to tell me that," Bianca sighed, "Do you reckon if I gave Fred a wig, he'd do the task for me?"

Charlie laughed, "As much as I'd love to see Fred in a wig, I'd hate to have wasted my time telling you everything I can about dragons."

Bianca gave him a hug and thanked him.

"You know," Charlie said, "Bill and I decided that when we find out who put your name in that Goblet, we'll throw all four of these dragons at them."

"I'd love to see you try and pick up a dragon," Bianca laughed.

"We'd do it for you," Charlie said, "Now go to bed, it's late and you have to kick a dragon's arse tomorrow."

Bianca smiled appreciatively and followed Hagrid back to the castle. The raved the whole way about how beautiful the dragons were, but she tuned him out. How in Merlin's name was she going to get past a dragon?

When she got back to the common room, it was so late, Fred and George had already gone to bed. She sat in front of the fire, spending a few hours giving herself a silent pep-talk. She decided she would be confident when she stepped out to complete the task the next day. She'd hold her head up high and try her hardest, knowing that if she got through tomorrow her confidence would build and the anxiety inside her would start to melt.

Feeling much more confident, she headed up to bed, still reeling positive comments through her mind like a song on repeat.

The next morning, all of her confidence had dissipated and she felt awful. The image of those huge dragons breathing lethal clouds of fire out of her head. Fred and George had practically forced food down her throat at breakfast and dragged her from lesson to lesson throughout the morning.

It was like Bianca was in a strange trance, unable to do anything for herself. When McGonagall hurried over to her to bring her down to the tent after lunch, Fred and George asked for a minute with her first.

"I'll go and fetch Potter, then," she said, and rushed down the table to Harry.

George slapped her across the face. Her cheek strung and she cried out, "Ow! What was for?"

"Pull it together!" Fred said, "You haven't told us what you're facing, but it'll be dangerous and you won't get through the challenge if you're half asleep!"

Bianca nodded, determination filling her eyes. The boys gave her a quick hug, told her she'd be fine and pushed her towards McGonagall who ushered them out the building and down towards the forest. Neither of the students talked at all.

"When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag from which you will each select a small model of the thing you're about to face," Bagman explained, "There are different- er- varieties, you see. And I have to tell you something else too… ah yes… your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Bianca paced around the tent, listening to the hundreds of students filing past outside. Not soon later, she was reaching into the bag to pick her dragon.

She removed her hand, holding a grey model of the dragon Charlie had called a Swedish Short-Snout. It had a number one tied around its neck. She was going first.

Harry disappeared outside the tent with Mr Bagman. Bianca felt slightly ill, but she took a few breaths to compose herself and gave herself the same motivational speech in her head that she'd done last night. When the whistle blew, she held her head up and walked out of the tent. She passed Harry and smiled at him, paused for a second and stepped into the enclosure. The dragon was standing directly in front of her, eyes ablaze.

It opened her mouth, ready to barbeque her, but she dived to the side, running diagonally towards the beast. Everything Charlie had told her the previous night had been wiped from her mind. If the dragon wanted to torch her, it would have to be far enough away, so Bianca figured that by running towards it, she'd force it to back up until it couldn't go any further and hopefully by then she'd have a plan.

However, her adrenaline-filled brain hadn't anticipated that the dragon was smarter than that. She was looking wildly around the stadium as she ran, trying to spot the golden egg, so didn't see the dragon raise its mighty claws and put a foot out to stop her. She was pushed backwards and pinned down by a dragon's foot bigger than her. Her mind raced. What now?

The dragon stared at her with its huge golden eyes. There was an evil glint in it, but also the same thought process that was twirling in Bianca's brain. The dragon couldn't hurt her in this position. Blow fire and it would burn itself. Bianca wouldn't be able to get up fast enough to move if it moved its claws. The stones beneath her were digging agonisingly into her back but she ignored the pain and wracked her brains for a plan.

And so, when the dragon did move its foot, Bianca grabbed onto the claw with both hands and swung her legs up so that she clung to the dragon like a sloth. The Swedish Short-Snout didn't seem to approve of its new shoe, and shook its foot, desperately trying to dislodge Bea, but she gripped on tightly. Somehow, she managed to manoeuvre herself so that rather than being underneath the foot, ready to be completely crushed when it put its foot down, she was holding onto its huge ankle. Bianca climbed up the outside of the leg until she was hunched on its back. Holding onto a scale for balance, she looked around, trying to catch sight of the egg somewhere. The dragon flapped its wings and blew fire manically in an attempt to throw her off, but, safe behind its head where none of the flames could reach her, Bianca's eyes scanned the stadium until she spotted the egg in a nest behind a cluster of rocks.

Carefully she made her way down the back of the creature, nearly falling several times as the dragon thrashed and ran around the stadium. When she finally reached the tail, she dropped down, swinging from it for a second before jumping to the ground. She realised that was probably a mistake when she found herself ducking to avoid getting swatted by a long, deadly dragon tail. She stayed ducked down, hidden from view and occasionally popped up and sent a well-aimed spell to blow up a rock or fake some movement to distract her monstrous opponent. She didn't pull off any complex magic, but Bianca wasn't worried about impressing the judges or performing for the crowd, she just didn't want to die. Finally, she was next to the eggs, but that caught the dragon's attention. Movement amongst her precious eggs had the Short-Snout thundering over, eyes dangerously sharp. Just as it opened its humongous jaws to burn her to pieces, she raised her wand.

"Aguamenti!" she yelled, and a wave of water erupted from the tip of her wand. It drenched both her and the dragon and confused it long it enough to allow her to dive for the egg and grab it. Droplets of water were still falling from the sky as remnants of her spell when the keepers rushed over to control the dragon. Once it was subdued, Charlie ran over in excitement. McGonagall was also rushing over.

"That," Charlie said, "Was awesome. I didn't think anyone would get that close to a dragon."

"I think it's fairly safe to say that she couldn't have been closer to it," McGonagall said, waving her wand to dry off Bianca's dripping wet clothes, "Are you injured at all?"

Bianca shook her head, "No. No, I'm fine."

Bianca didn't watch the judges give her scores because she was scanning the crowd for Fred and George. Charlie was holding her hand but she was looking through the crowds of people who she'd forgotten were even there while she'd been doing the trial. Finally, she spotted them. They were still cheering and jumping around even though everyone else had fallen silent. She laughed and by the time she looked back to the judges, they had already lowered their wands and the scores were gone. She didn't care. Fred and George's delight and pride had been more than enough.

"36!" Charlie was yelling in her ear, "That's not bad!"

"Is that what I got?" Bianca shouted back.

Charlie chuckled, "Weren't you watching?"

Bianca pointed to the twins who now seemed to be doing some sort of choreographed acrobatics/dance routine while chanting her name enthusiastically, "I was distracted," she told him.

"Congratulations," Professor McGonagall said with a slight smile, "Come, I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey. She wants to check up on all the champions after they have fought their dragons."

"I'll catch you later, Bea," Charlie told her and ran off to help his colleagues bring the next dragon out.

Madame Pomfrey ordered her to lie down on the bed so she could treat the scratches and bruises on her back and remove the segments of stone which were stuck in there like huge splinters. Once all the pieces were out, the healer cleaned the grazes with warm water and rubbed on a salve which burned and stung for a few seconds but then felt gently cooling and soothing.

"Lie still," Madam Pomfrey instructed, "It'll take a while for the cream to sink in."

She dampened some pieces of cloth with a little bit of a liquid which looked just like water but smelt very odd and draped them over her back. Bianca thought it was all a bit excessive just for some cuts and scrapes, but Madame Pomfrey said, "They're deeper than you think and we don't want anything getting infected. Merlin only knows what strange dragon-y germs are on those rocks."

Bianca was forced to lie there, listening to the oohs and ahhs of the crowd outside while Fleur and Krum fought to get their own golden eggs. Adrenaline was rushing through her and she struggled to stay still with all the noise coming from the stadium. She was fairly certain she'd been forgotten about until Madame Pomfrey returned, very frazzled and irritated. She removed the cloth and rubbed whatever was left of the salve into Bianca's back and told her she could leave. She passed Harry on her way out the tent, smiled at him and congratulated him before wading through the crowds of people to locate Fred and George.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The party in the Gryffindor common room that night had been even more crazy than the previous one, and this time Bianca enjoyed it much more. Determined not to feel uncomfortable by the endless streams of Gryffindors congratulating her, Bianca had to force a smile for the first ten minutes or so, until people started ignoring her and enjoying the party. She sat in the corner watching in amusement as Neville turned into a canary and cringing when Harry's egg was opened and plugging her ears when the horrible screaming noise came from it. She decided she wasn't particularly eager to open her own egg. They stayed up very late into the night celebrating and having fun until, at about two in the morning, the Prefects decided that they'd had enough and sent everyone to bed.

Fred and George found Bianca and gave her a last goodnight hug.

"We're so proud of you," George said, beaming.

"Our little champion," Fred kissed her on the head and her heart beat a little faster.

"You're amazing," George told her.

The next few weeks were very cold and very hectic. Stupid students in younger years were determined to steal her egg so it had got to the point where she had to carry it everywhere with her so that it didn't get lost or taken. The announcement of the Yule Ball was also very shocking. McGonagall had told them about it at the end of a Transfigurations lesson. Bianca, Angelina and Alicia stood outside with Lee after the lesson while McGonagall scolded Fred and George for jumping up and prancing around the room, pretending to ballroom dance.

"I'm so excited!" Alicia gushed, "It's going to be so fun, and everyone's going to look so beautiful!"

Bianca rolled her eyes, "You actually want to go?"

"Of course!" Angelina and Alicia cried together.

"You don't?" Lee said.

"Of course not," Bianca scoffed, "I don't like anything to do with this tournament. And it's just a chance to show off the champions again. I'm not going."

"Not even if someone asks you?" Angelina said with a wink.

"Who would ask me?" Bianca laughed, "Besides, I don't like crowds anyway. It'll be nice to have the common room quiet for once."

"But we're all going!" Alicia said, "And you're a champion!"

"That's the problem," Bianca said, "I wouldn't enjoy it anyway."

"There's six of us," Angelina said, "That's perfect. We can go in a group and still have someone to dance with."

"Except Lee doesn't want to go with any of us, does he?" Bianca said, "He's got his eyes on Katie Bell. So, then there's seven of us."

"But, Bea-"

"I don't want to go!" Bianca said.

"Unfortunately," Professor McGonagall appeared with Fred and George, "You have to."

Bianca's face fell, "What, why?"

"It is Yule Ball tradition for the champions to open the evening with a dance."

"But, professor-"

"No, buts. I expect you there with a partner. Do not let Gryffindor down."

Bianca sighed, "Yes, professor."

The group headed back to the common room. Angelina and Alicia nattered about the ball the whole way. They badgered everyone about who they'd be going with and discussed in great detail what dresses they'd be wearing.

Bianca raised an eyebrow in despair and dropped back to talk to Lee.

"You were right," he said nervously, "I want to take Katie."

Bianca beamed, "Well ask her! I'm sure she'll say yes."

"I can't," he protested, "What if she doesn't say yes. What if she wants something more elaborate than me just saying, 'will you go to the ball with me?'?"

Bianca laughed, "You're not asking her to marry you. Just say, 'would you like to come to the Yule ball with me?'."

"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" Lee repeated under his breath.

"And she'll go, 'Yes I'd love to!' and bam, you have yourself a date," Bianca said, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Right," Lee grinned, "Thank you, I'll ask her tomorrow."

The group stepped into the common room and the girls went up to bed.

"So," Angie said, "Who are you going to go with, Bea?"

Bianca sighed, "I don't know. I guess I'll see if anyone asks."

"Who wouldn't ask?" Alicia said, "You're a champion!"

"And I don't want to go with someone just because they think it's cool to go with a Triwizard champion."

"You're not just a champion," Angie said, "You're smart and funny and literally the sweetest person in this whole school. I bet there are loads of boys who have been waiting for an opportunity like this to take you out since first year."

"I'm not like that," Bianca said, "I'm not interested in-"

"Romance?" Alicia guessed, "You don't have to want a relationship with someone just to go to the ball with them. Who are you going with, then, Angie?" Alicia changed the subject swiftly.

She shrugged, "I don't know. If I'm perfectly honest, I was hoping George would ask me. I guess I'll see, but I'm not as sceptical about everyone as Bianca is."

"Look, you know I don't want to go," Bianca said, "But if I am going, then I want to go with someone I'll enjoy my night with."

"You mean Fred," Alicia teased.

"No! Fred's my brother, that's weird."

"Technically-"

"I'm not related to him, I know," Bianca said, "But I grew up with him. I can't remember a single day without Fred and George."

"So, you're close," Angelina said.

"Not like that!" Bea protested.

"It's not weird," Alicia told her, "Everyone can see you and Fred are close. And everyone also knows you're not actually siblings. You know everything about each other, you spend every second of the day with each other-"

"The same can be said about me and George!"

"-and you totally have the hots for him."

Bianca glared at her, "He doesn't want to go with me!" she said, "He'll probably ask Alicia or some other pretty girl in our year."

"You do want to go with him!"

"Well it makes sense, doesn't it? There are only two people in the building I'd consider going with."

"You'd so much rather go with Fred."

"I didn't say that! I love them both! And, like I said, Fred will end up going with you, so it doesn't matter anyway. Goodnight."

Bianca pulled the curtains around her bed and clambered under the covers. She didn't know what to think. She never thought she'd feel like this, not towards Fred or George. It was weird, you can't have a crush on your brother! 'But he's not really my brother', she reminded herself 'we're not really related'. 'But we were raised together! We consider the same person our mother. Just because that person isn't really my mother, that doesn't mean that-'. She groaned quietly and buried her head in her pillow.

As it turned out, she'd had nothing to worry about because, as she'd predicted, Fred had asked Angelina to the ball in front of the entire common room not too long after. George had looked slightly shocked but kept up the positive, smiley act in front of his housemates. Bianca was also surprised that he hadn't shared his plans out loud with her- they told each other everything!

Angelina found her once the twins had gone off to send their fifth letter of the year to Ludo Bagman.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

"Why? I told you, I don't think of him like that. I hope you have a really nice evening," she said and she genuinely meant it.

"But you don't have a partner!" Angelina said.

"It's ok," Bianca said, "I know who I'm going to ask."

It was a few days into the Christmas holiday when Bianca finally found who she wanted to ask. George had asked Alicia so she had to think of someone completely different. She approached him in the common room one evening when Fred and George were talking about their shop. They were leaving her out a lot of these discussions lately because they knew it was against all the school rules and didn't want her in trouble, especially with all the attention on her this year. They apologised frequently and regularly gave her updates on their plans, allowing her to correct their mistakes and give her input. But, tonight was one of those nights where she wasn't allowed to be involved and so she took her chance.

"Hey, Harry, could I talk to you for a second?"

Harry got to his feet and followed her to a private corner.

"I wanted to ask you something," Bianca said, "Do you have a date for the ball?"

"Erm, yeah," Harry said awkwardly, "Why?"

"Well I was just thinking that I don't really want to go, but McGonagall is kind of forcing me, so I thought that maybe I'd 'open the ball' or whatever with you and then leave. Just the first dance."

"I don't see why not," Harry said, "I'll have to check with Parvati, but I'm sure she won't mind just one dance."

"Thank you, Harry," Bianca said gratefully, "Let me know what she says."

Christmas day was great. Bianca spent the day with all her friends, laughing and sharing presents. They didn't eat much because apparently there was going to be a feast at the ball and they wanted to save themselves for that, so instead, Bianca sat with Fred and George in the sixth-year boys dorm room with Alicia, Angelina and Lee, clad in her Weasley jumper and munching on the occasional fudge or chocolate which they were all sharing. The Christmas lunch was delicious and they spent the afternoon exploring the grounds in the snow before they all went up to get ready for the ball.

Bianca hadn't told the girls that she was only planning on staying for the first dance and sighed at the thought of all the effort she'd be putting in for such a short amount of time, but got ready anyway. They put on minimal amounts of naturally pretty makeup and styled each other's hair as nicely as they could before putting on their dresses. Bianca had been keeping hers in her case, and the girls gasped when she got it out.

"That's going to look gorgeous on you!" they squealed, "Put it on, put it on!"

Bianca sighed, it was a shame such a beautiful dress was going to be wasted. Reluctantly she stepped into the gown and shimmied into it properly. The girls spent a few minutes, perfecting any creases before getting ready to head down and meet the boys. They had about fifteen minutes before the ball started and Angie and Bianca headed down. Alicia was taking a few extra minutes to perfect her hair which already seemed flawless to Bianca but, she was adamant that there were 'whisps'.

When Fred and George caught sight of the girls, their jaws dropped. The doors were already open to the Great Hall, and people were heading. The champions were lining up with McGonagall.

Fred took Angelina's arm and turned to Bianca, trying not to look too stunned, "Where's Lee?"

"Lee?" Bianca repeated, "Why would I be-"

But Angelina had pulled him away and dragged him into the hall so Bianca asked George instead.

"Why would I know where Lee is?"

"Isn't he your partner?"

"No! I don't have a partner," Bianca said with a hint of sadness.

"You don't-" George stuttered, "But we heard-"

"I don't know what you heard but Lee's going with Katie, he asked her the day after it was announced. Didn't he tell you?"

"No, he-"

"Never mind," Bianca said, "There's Alicia." She started towards where Harry was waiting for her, "You look great, by the way. Did you transfigure those robes?"

George winked and walked with Alicia into the Great Hall, "Maybe."

Bianca laughed and stood next to Harry. "Good evening, sir," she joked lightly, "Don't you look dashing this fine evening?"

Harry smiled, "You look beautiful," he said kindly.

"Thank you," Bianca said, "Although, I'd much rather be in a jumper and leggings right now. These dresses are really uncomfortable."

"Maybe we should have come in pyjamas instead," Harry laughed.

"That would have quartered the time it took to get ready."

"And saved lots of time getting ready for bed afterwards."

"Why wear a ball gown when you can wear a dressing gown?"

When they were led into the Great Hall a few minutes later, it was like walking into the Arctic. Gleaming frost covered the walls and the dozens of small tables which had replaced the usual long house tables had wreaths and mistletoe on them. She caught sight of where her friends were all huddled around a table. Fred looked slightly glum but they were all chatting happily together. Lee looked delighted next to Katie and George was laughing with Alicia. Bianca felt slightly bad that she wouldn't be joining them after the meal and the first dance, but she was already unnerved, just from walking into the room and dreaded to think what would happen if she was squished into crowds. She flashed a smile at her friends as she passed them and, once they'd reached the main table, took her seat next to Harry. There were two empty seats because apparently it was expected that the champions would take other people and not each other. Bianca wasn't too impressed that Harry had taken the seat next to none other than her brother, Percy, but he didn't seem at all interested in talking to her and focused only on Harry. Bianca listened to the various conversations around her, enjoying the delicious food. Every so often, she'd catch Fred or George's eye and smile at them briefly. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and Bianca would have given anything to be sitting there with them instead of with the teachers, champions and Percy.

When the Weird Sisters trudged up to the stage, the champions got to their feet and went down to the dance floor.

"I should probably warn you," Harry said awkwardly, "I can't dance."

Bianca laughed, "Don't worry, neither can I."

Thankfully, they didn't have to awkwardly stumble around the floor in the centre of attention for long because gradually, other people started to come onto the floor.

"Nice socks, Potter," Mad-Eye Moody clunked past, but his eyes weren't looking down at Harry's feet. They were fixed on Bianca. She immediately felt ten times more uncomfortable and said to Harry, "Finish the dance with Parvati. Thank you for doing this. Enjoy your night."

Harry smiled, "I hope you had a good evening."

She ducked away and headed towards the exit but just as she reached the doors, she was stopped by George.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"The common room," Bianca said sheepishly, "You know this isn't my thing."

George sighed sadly, "Fred was going to ask you to come. He figured you'd enjoy it more if you were with us." Bianca looked over his shoulder into the hall where Fred was dancing maniacally with Angelina, laughing. "But when we were heading back to the common room that night, we heard Lee talking to you and figured he'd asked you."

"And you didn't check with him?"

"I guess not," George shrugged.

"You wanted to go with Angie, didn't you?" Bianca assumed, glancing awkwardly behind him, her eyes falling on a certain Mad-Eye Moody walking towards them. She was getting a really bad feeling about him and desperately wanted to get back to the common room.

"I guess I'm not the only one who couldn't go with who they wanted to. Do you want me to walk you back?"

"Hm?"

"Well I'm guessing I can't convince you to stay a bit longer," George said, "It's a shame really because that really is a beautiful dress."

"It's alright," Bianca smiled, "Go and ask Angie to dance. Tell Fred I said goodnight."

She pulled him into a warm hug and kissed him on the cheek.

"Do I have to give him a kiss?" George joked.

Bianca smiled, "I'll be disappointed if you don't. But I'll wait for you in the common room if you're that against it."

"I'll see you later," George said and turned to rejoin everyone else. Bianca watched them dance together for a while before realising how close Mad-Eye had got and hurriedly turned just a little too late.

"Wait," he called out gruffly, "Walk with me."

Bianca could think of billions of things she'd rather do, including fight a troll and live with Percy for the rest of her life but she felt she didn't have a choice and allowed her professor to lead her in the general direction of the kitchens. They walked in silence for a while, fear building up inside Bianca. Her teacher was behaving very oddly, gripping his wand tightly and looking around for any other people.

"You performed well in the task," he growled.

"Thank you, sir," Bianca said politely.

"You're a talented witch," he continued, "Must have had powerful parents."

Bianca's heart raced and she was immediately on guard.

"I wouldn't know, sir," she said quietly.

"But I could tell you," he said ominously.

"People keep saying that," Bianca tried to be careful with how she spoke, "I'm not sure how many of them mean it."

"I know your father," he said, "He's asked me to do a couple of little tasks for him. Would you like to know what was on the top of his list?"

They'd stopped next to what Bianca recognised as the entrance to a passageway she and the twins used to get from the kitchens to the common room quickly. She was breathing so quickly that she felt slightly dizzy as Moody backed her up against the wall and raised his wand. She gasped in horror as his face started to shift slightly, like his appearance was glitching. He shook it off and snarled, "Would you?"

Bianca squeaked in response and his lip twitched, "I'll tell you. Job number one: Get rid of you. I was hoping the dragon would do it for me, but never mind, I guess I'll do it the messy way. Merry Christmas."

With a simple flick of his wand, Bianca's eyes rolled back and she collapsed. He caught her roughly and threw her over his shoulder before opening the passageway entrance and stepping inside, quietly muttering, "Obliviate."

He left a few minutes later alone.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

When Fred and George returned to the common room much later on that night, they were slightly disappointed that Bianca hadn't stayed up to see them. Angelina and Alicia had retired a little earlier with Katie but Fred, George and Lee stayed at the ball, dancing, messing around and laughing. George had told them with great sadness that Bianca wouldn't be staying any longer. However, they still had a wonderful night together, even if their group was a member down.

When the boys got upstairs, they assumed Bianca would be waiting for them on the sofa. The sofa was empty.

"I guess she must have gone up with the girls," George said. Fred looked slightly disheartened so George said, "It's late, Fred. We'll see her in the morning."

The next morning, the boys were up a little bit earlier than the rest of the school who were very groggy and had slept in late. Fred, George and Lee waited for the girls in the common room, looking up excitedly when Angelina and Alicia emerged, yawning and stretching.

"Where's Bianca?" George asked.

"She's not with you?" Alicia said tiredly, "We thought she got up early to come and see you."

"Did you see her last night?" Fred asked, concerned.

"When we got back, the curtains were drawn around her bed so we tried not to disturb her and went to sleep ourselves."

"Were the curtains still drawn this morning?" George said.

"Yes," Angelina said, "But we called to her and there was no response so we went to wake her up and she wasn't there. That's why we thought she'd gone to find all of you."

Fred was scared now, "So no one's seen her since last night?"

"Is her dress in your room?" George demanded.

Alicia ran upstairs to check and came down a few seconds later, pale-faced. She shook her head sadly, "It's not there."

"It's fine," Lee reassured, "She might have gone down to the kitchens and fallen asleep or something."

"Why would anyone go to the kitchens after that meal?"

"Maybe for a drink? I'm just saying don't jump to the worst conclusions when we don't know anything."

But Fred and George were hysterical. "I knew I should have walked her back," George muttered, "Why didn't I make her stay?"

"I should have asked her to go with me!" Fred said, covering his face with his hands.

Lee shook his head and pushed the boys onto the sofa, "You two, sit down and shut up. I'll go and check the kitchens, the girls will go to the Great Hall to see if she just wanted an early breakfast. We'll keep our eyes open and then come back."

"We can help!" Fred said, "We'll look around the castle and-"

"Stay here in case she comes back here," Lee said sternly, "We'll be quick."

Fred and George sat on the sofa glumly, hearts racing in terror. They had no idea what had happened and a horrible feeling deep in their hearts told them that she hadn't just lost track of time in the kitchens. They were jittery and nervous and desperately wanted Lee to walk back through the common room with Bianca next to him, completely fine. They wanted her to smile and run into their arms and tell them that they'd been silly for panicking. They wanted her to laugh at them for being so stupid and say that she'd just been down to grab a cup of tea, or to send an owl home.

They weren't surprised, however, when Lee returned alone, followed a few minutes later by Angelina who was also by herself. When Alicia climbed through the portrait hole, everyone held their breaths, but she was the only one there. George cried out in frustration.

"Let's go and get breakfast," Lee said, "We can talk to a teacher while we're there."

It was the most stressful and painful day of the twins' lives and the first they'd ever spent without seeing Bianca. They spent all day rushing around the castle searching for her. George felt immensely guilty for letting her go back to the common room alone so late at night. Fred felt ridiculous for not realising she never wanted to go with Lee and not asking her himself. All of the joy from Christmas had completely vanished.

Professor McGonagall had told them that she hadn't seen her since the ball and none of their fellow housemates knew where she was either.

"This is awful," Fred cried, "It's because she's a champion, isn't it? Some older student got jealous of her and… and-"

"Don't be ridiculous," Angelina chided, "She's fine."

"Is she?" George said, "How do you know? Nobody's seen her for nearly a day!"

Fred and George couldn't sleep that night. They were too full of anxiety, too concerned to even shut their eyes for a second. It had been over twenty-four hours since anyone had seen Bianca and they were getting more and more worried by the second.

It wasn't until lunchtime the next day when Fred jumped up and shouted in a stroke of genius, "We need to find Harry."

"What, why?" George asked.

"The map!" Fred cried, "The Marauder's Map!"

Bianca opened her eyes to find herself staring at the floor. She was freezing cold, aching all over and felt so weak, she couldn't even lift her head. She didn't know where she was, how she got there or how long she'd been lying in a passageway. The last thing she could remember doing was talking to George after the ball. So why now was she in so much pain and left alone in this abandoned part of the castle?

After a few minutes of struggling to stay conscious, there was a clunking sound from down the passage. There was nothing she could do. She couldn't move or even call out. And so, the person approached and knelt down next to her. She gasped slightly as she found herself eye to magical eye with Professor Moody.

"Strong one, aren't you?" he said deeply, "I wish it could have been so simple as just to kill you on the spot and leave. But we couldn't have anyone getting suspicious, could we? We've got to make this look like an accident. So, what will it be? Duel gone wrong?" he fired a few spells and hexes at her that made her cry out and curl up into a ball with whatever strength she had left. "Jealous student?" he stamped on her face with his metal leg. With a rage she didn't know he could possess, he fired multiple more curses at her. "You stupid girl," he snarled, "Could have ruined everything. Only you and, and-"

He growled and pulled a horrible looking potion out of his over-sized jacket. "Drink up," he said, "Give it a day or two and you'll be dead and this can all be framed and put behind us, eh?"

Bianca whimpered and closed her eyes, clamping her mouth shut. It didn't take much for the much stronger man to haul her into a sitting position, her limp body propped against the wall and pry her lips apart.

"Enjoy," he said and tipped the liquid down her throat. Bianca's eyes fluttered shut and she flopped to the floor. Her breathing became shallow, her pulse slowed immediately. Muttering a quick memory-wiping charm for safety, he smirked. When he next planned on coming back to collect the girl a few days later, she'd be dead. He'd frame it to look unsuspicious, lead the other professors away and then his plan for Potter could be put into proper action. He tucked the empty vial into his pocket and headed back down the passage. Once back in the main body of the school, he stopped as he heard two panicked voices. Cursing silently, he hid around the corner until the unmistakable sound of the Weasley twins had faded. They'd gone down the passage.

"Why would she hide down here, George?" Fred said, "I have a really bad feeling about this."

"Me too," George said.

The boys were making their way down the passage from the kitchens to the common room, hearts racing until they stopped dead and their faces turned a shade paler than any of the school ghosts.

"No," George choked and ran towards their triplet's lifeless body, "No, no, no."

Fred was frozen to the spot, "She's not-"

George picked her up gently, "Not yet. We have to get her to Madame Pomfrey. Quickly. Fred, come on!"

The boys practically ran down the cold corridor, adrenaline rushing through them. George ignored the layers of fabric from Bianca's Yule ball dress which were tangled around his arms and legs. He tried not to look at the blood streaming down her face or how she just lay so limply in his arms, it was more like he was carrying a floppy blanket than a person. They got the fright of their lives when they turned a corner to find themselves face to face with Mad-Eye Moody.

"Professor?" they said, "How did you-"

"It tends to grab someone's attention when a large portrait is left hanging open like a door, Weasley," he said, "Get her to the hospital, I'll fetch Professor McGonagall."

The twins nodded and continued on their way, until they burst into the infirmary. Fred ran to get Madame Pomfrey and George lay Bianca on a bed. He'd never been so scared. When he'd seen her lying so still and pale, it had looked just like-

"Oh my goodness!" Madame Pomfrey appeared behind him, "What in Merlin's name- Get out of the way I need to-"

None of that made much sense to either of the twins, but they both stepped back and watched as the nurse performed several spells and charms. A light pink bubble appeared around her nose and mouth, presumably to help her breathe. With a few quick waves of her wand, the blood was all gone from her face. The doors of the Hospital Wing flew open again and in came Professor McGonagall, swiftly followed by Mad-Eye Moody and even Dumbledore himself.

"What can you do, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked calmly as McGonagall put a comforting hand on each of the twin's shoulders.

"Not much more until I know what happened. I believe she's been given some sort of potion or drink. Can you see, how her lips are slightly parted and stained?"

"Send for Severus," Dumbledore said to Moody, "As soon as possible." He turned to the twins, "Tell me what happened."

Fred and George explained everything they knew, from George seeing her before she left the ball to Fred having the genius idea to check the map. They never thought about the trouble they'd get in for possessing such an object, too concerned for Bianca.

"Sir, is she going to-"

"I am sure that everything is being done to ensure Bianca makes a speedy recovery," he looked up as Snape entered the room, "Ah, Severus, perhaps you could help us."

Snape walked over to the bed and studied Bianca while Dumbledore said to the twins, "Perhaps you boys would like to sit on the bed over there. It's getting rather crowded."

McGonagall led the twins over to the opposite bed, ensuring they could still see Bianca because she knew they'd panic if they couldn't.

Snape talked quietly to Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey for a few minutes before turning sharply and leaving the room.

"Professor Snape believes he knows which potion was used here and has gone to prepare an antidote. I want you to go back to your common room and then have some dinner." When the twins started to protest, Dumbledore continued, "You may return before bed, but I think Madame Pomfrey needs some time to tend to Bianca. She is in capable hands, do not worry. Minerva, perhaps you could escort Misters Weasley back to Gryffindor tower and then join me back here?"

McGonagall nodded and ushered Fred and George out of the room. They walked briskly and when they reached the Fat Lady's portrait, she said to them, "I would like to award you ten points each for the true Gryffindor bravery and loyalty you have shown over the past few days."

"Wow, Professor," Fred smiled, "That might be the first time you've given us points and not taken them away."

"Don't make me regret it," McGonagall said, although she was smiling.

"Never in a million years," George smirked, "In fact, we'll remind you of it frequently if you so wish."

The twins climbed into the portrait hole and stepped into the common room. They shared a look and smirked before wiping their faces of any joy and sitting down. They tried to look as worried and upset as possible so that as soon as they were on their way over, their friends started firing concerned questions at them.

"What happened?"

"Where's Bea, did you find her?"

"What's going on?"

It took all they had not to burst out laughing and Fred said shakily, "McGonagall-"

"What's she got to do with anything?"

"She, she," George said dramatically with a sniff, "She gave us house points."

"For the first time ever!" Fred cried out, "Ten points each!"

Lee glared at them, "What has that got to do with anything? What about Bianca?"

"Oh, she's just dying in the hospital wing," Fred waved him off, "Stop changing the subject, this is important!"

Angelina slapped him, "Really?"

"Yes, it's important, we just earned the house twenty points!"

"That's not what I meant!" Angelina snapped, "Is Bea really-"

"Dying?" George finished, "Yes. Or she was when we found her. With any luck she'll be fine."

Alicia gasped, "What happened?"

"Well she wasn't exactly in any condition to tell us," Fred said, "But it looked like someone attacked her or something. From what we heard from eavesdropping on the teachers, there's a combination of spells, potions and physical harm. They think it was a jealous older student."

"That's awful!" Angelina choked, putting a hand to her mouth, "Why are you so calm? Aren't you meant to be the protective ones that never stop panicking about her?"

George shrugged, "At least we know where she is. Snape said he can make an antidote hopefully fast enough, although, knowing the git, he'll probably purposefully take a few days too long."

"What?"

"Well apparently she's getting gradually worse because of whatever potion she was given," Fred said, "But everyone's Lord and Saviour, Severus Snape is on it and will save the day like the hero he is."

"Fred!" Alicia cried, "Stop it, this is really serious, isn't it? If Snape can't help then-" she dissolved into tears.

Angelina rubbed her on the back and the group fell into silence. There was no denying that there was still a chance Bianca might not survive, but with their usual positive outlook, the twins had decided that now they knew where Bianca was, she would be alright.

After dinner, the twins rushed back to the Hospital Wing, just to get a horrible pang in their chests when Bianca wasn't sitting up waiting for them. Realistically, they knew that wouldn't happen, but still it hurt to see her so small and thin, helpless on the bed. Her dress had been switched for a simple nightgown. Her arm was placed across her stomach but her breathing was so shallow, you couldn't even see the rise and fall of her chest. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken, her lips cracked. Madame Pomfrey was still buzzing back and forth between Bianca and her office, each time returning with something else to try and help.

Fred and George approached the bed and sat in the seats next to it. Madame Pomfrey nodded curtly at them. When she rushed off to her office, Fred reached over and took Bianca's hand gently. He was shocked by how cold she felt and tried to ignore how her wrist flopped down lifelessly.

"I thought I might find you two here," a gentle voice came from behind them. They didn't need to turn to know that their headmaster was standing behind them, "I took the liberty of sending an owl to your mother."

"Oh," Fred said, "I hope she doesn't panic too much."

"I tried to be reassuring," Dumbledore said, "But I can not lie."

"Is she coming?" George asked.

"I have not yet received a response, but I did request to speak with her. In the meantime, I thought I might speak to you."

"Us?"

"You know Bianca better than anyone in this school, and something tells me this was no accident. It is my duty to find out what happened. Now you said you knew of the passage where she was found already?"

Fred and George were slightly uncomfortable at how serious Dumbledore was. Normally he'd be light-hearted or tell a few jokes, but now, there was no twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, sir," George said, "We found it last year."

"And do you know of anyone else aware of it?"

"No, sir, except Lee, but he would never," Fred paused, "Do this."

Dumbledore considered this, "And you know of no one who would-"

"Try to kill her?" George guessed, "No. No one. Bea's never done anything to anyone."

"Unless," Fred joked, "That sly Potter kid is trying to bump off the others so he can win the tournament for himself."

"Good point," George played along, "I've never trusted that one. Wants all the glory for himself."

Dumbledore's eyes glinted a little, "I will have to keep a closer watch on him from now on."

"Sir," Fred said, "Do you know why this happens to her? First the Chamber of Secrets, then the Quidditch Cup and now this."

"Not to mention the fact she's been entered into a potentially deadly tournament and that she was left to die as a baby."

Dumbledore sighed sadly, "I do not, but I will do everything I can to find out."

"Does she still have to compete?"

"I suppose that depends on how the next few days go. But I would assume yes, she will still have to compete."

George sighed and Fred rubbed his eyes, "Is Professor Snape going to have a potion ready before-"

"She will not die, Mr Weasley, you made sure of that. She is well aware that you would both kill her if that happened."

Fred and George smiled, "Don't be ridiculous, sir, we need her to win so she can get that prize money and then we'll run off with it and leave her here."

"Of course," the headteacher nodded solemnly, "How could I be so naïve?"

"I thought you were meant to be wise, sir."

"Alas, it seems that I am getting old. I will leave you be, do not stay too late. I do not wish to return tomorrow to find you asleep in these chairs with awful back pains."

"Don't worry, sir, we'll sleep on the beds right over there."

"Goodnight," Dumbledore said with a chuckle.

"I'll feel bad leaving her alone tonight," George said, "She's been by herself for so long."

"It was only a day, Georgie," Fred laughed.

"But we never leave each other when stuff like this happens," George said.

"Like we were planning on leaving anyway," Fred smiled.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Fred and George were jerked awake the next morning by their mother, bursting through the doors and rushing over to them. Professor Dumbledore entered after her, raising an eyebrow at the twins who smirked sheepishly. Professor McGonagall hurried in a few seconds later with Mr Weasley.

"Morning, mum," Fred said cheerfully, "You're up bright and early."

"Well I received a rather concerning owl last night," Mrs Weasley said sharply, "And I was summoned for a meeting with Professor Dumbledore. Oh, goodness," she gasped, "Our poor girl."

"Worry not, Molly, as I have told you already, Severus is doing everything he can and Poppy has been up all night working."

"I assume you've already been told of our heroic efforts to save her," Fred said, removing the blanket from his lap which had somehow appeared overnight.

"Hm," Mrs Weasley scowled at them, "I'll speak to you about that later."

The twins shared a look and Fred, who was still holding Bianca's hand, shuffled slightly in his seat.

"It was meant to be such a wonderful night," Mrs Weasley said quietly, "I bet she looked so beautiful."

"She did," Fred said, remembering how stunning Bianca had looked that night.

"Oh, like you'd know," Mrs Weasley said.

"What?" Fred demanded.

"Molly!" Mr Weasley said.

"Don't think Percy didn't tell me what happened. Don't think I don't know that neither of you decided to ask her even to dance, let alone accompany you to the ball. Don't think for one second that I don't know that she left after the first dance, alone."

"Mum-" George started.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm disappointed in both of you."

"Mum, I talked to her before she left. Told her she should stay and dance with us. I offered to walk her back to the common room but she insisted I stay and enjoy myself."

"Remind me who the gentleman is?" Mrs Weasley snapped.

"Molly," Mr Weasley said, "There is no need for this. The boys did everything they could, and who knows what state Bianca would be in without them."

"She wouldn't be in this state at all if-"

"Molly," Mr Weasley said, "That's enough." He patted the boys on the back and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

Fred and George were offended by their mother's accusations but also was a fresh feeling of guilt encasing their hearts.

"At least tell me she's improved since yesterday?" Mrs Weasley said desperately.

"As I have already explained," Dumbledore said calmly, "We can not expect to see any improvement until she has been given an antidote."

"But she hasn't got worse?"

"Molly," Mr Weasley said patiently, "Stop asking questions you already know the answer to and hoping for the opposite. Professor Dumbledore has already told us that-" he stopped, remembering that Fred and George were right next to him.

"I will not accept that my daughter is going to die," Mrs Weasley said adamantly, "Absolutely not."

"Come on, mum," Fred said, "Don't be so glum. Have some optimism!"

"Take one look at her and tell me how optimistic you are."

"If we weren't optimistic," George said, annoyed at his mother's behaviour, "We would have left her in that passage and told Professor McGonagall she was already dead. If we have hope, you can too."

And with that, the twins got to their feet and left to get some breakfast. They couldn't believe how childish their mother was being. George stretched and rolled his shoulders, "I think Dumbledore might have been right when he told us not to sleep in the chairs."

"They do terrible things for your posture," Fred agreed.

They stopped off quickly by Ron and Ginny to fill them in but warn them to stay away from the Hospital Wing until Mrs Weasley had calmed down and joined their friends down the table.

"Where have you two been?" Alicia demanded.

"Thought we'd have a sleepover with Snape," George replied sarcastically.

"We put our hair in rollers and gossiped all night."

"Discussed all the hot boys, wore face masks, painted each other's nails and even had matching dressing gowns."

"Shame you couldn't be there, really. Filch popped in for a bit too, but he had to go and get his hair braided."

"How's Bianca?" Angelina asked, smiling.

"Well she didn't say she liked our manicure when we asked so we left without asking," George joked, "I think she's upset that we didn't invite her."

"I'm sure that was it," Angelina said, "Nothing to do with the fact she's physically incapable of replying."

"What?" Fred said in horror, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Stop messing around and tell us how she is."

"As you just pointed out, we couldn't really ask her," Fred said, "But honestly she looked worse."

"I don't know what whoever is responsible did to her, but they clearly didn't want her to die quickly. She's getting slowly worse by the minute," George sighed, "Mum's going insane."

"Your mum's here?"

"Yeah, she and dad had to have a meeting with Dumbledore about… well, you know."

"Why don't we all go up and see her after breakfast?" Lee suggested.

"Who, mum?" George asked, "I don't think that's necessary."

Angelina slapped him on the back of the head, "I think that's a great idea, Lee."

"Ok, but if mum starts blaming you, try not to get too offended," Fred warned, "She seems to think everyone's responsible at the moment."

After breakfast, the group went back to visit Bianca.

"Mum, Dad, this is Lee, Angelina and Alicia," Fred introduced, "And it's none of their faults either before you ask, mum."

Mrs Weasley, obviously quite emotional, pulled all of them into a hug, "Thank you for being there for her."

"Oh, so they get a thank you and we get a telling off?" George said, "Are you usually meant to be biased towards your own children, not the other way around? Will you be sending them jumpers next year instead of us?"

Mrs Weasley glared at them but didn't say anything.

"How's Bianca doing?" Angelina asked politely.

"She'll be fine dear, don't you worry."

"Would you mind if we sat with her for a bit?" Alicia asked, "It's just, we haven't seen her since Christmas and we're awfully worried."

"Of course, of course," Mrs Weasley said, "There's plenty of room for everyone. Arthur, dear, move your chair along a bit."

Angelina gasped when she saw her friend, "George, you didn't tell us it was this bad!"

The group sat making polite conversation with the Weasley parents for an hour or two until Professor Snape glided into the room alongside Professor McGonagall. Madame Pomfrey emerged from the office and held out her hand. Snape placed a small vial of a light blue liquid into it and she rushed over. Everyone scrambled to their feet and took a few steps back, watching excitedly as Madame Pomfrey uncapped the potion and gently tilted Bianca's head back so she could trickle it into her mouth.

"How long will it take Severus?" she asked, wiping away a little dribble on Bianca's chin.

"At least a few hours. There might not be any improvement immediately but give it a while and she will make a full recovery."

"Thank you," Mrs Weasley said gratefully, "Thank you so much."

Snape nodded curtly and left.

"We best be off," Mr Weasley said, "Come on, Molly. She's going to be fine."

"Send an owl the second she wakes up, you hear me?" Mrs Weasley said to Fred and George, "The very second," she turned to Lee and the girls, "Make sure they do it."

There was a collective, "Yes, Mrs Weasley," and the woman smiled in satisfaction, gave everyone a hug and kissed Bianca on the forehead. Mr Weasley patted the boys on the back, smiled at Lee, Angelina and Alicia and followed McGonagall out of the room.

"Well, we have a couple of hours," Fred said, "What will it be? Dungbombs, fireworks?"

The five spent a while outside in the snow, skidding around on the lake and every so often melting the ice below each other so that they'd fall into the water. Once they managed to get back up on the ice, someone would dry them off while the other refroze the ice and then they'd continue. Every so often, a giant tentacle would pop up through the ice and wipe all of them out by smacking them in their legs and swiping them off their feet. It was great fun, and after a while, they were so cold that their fingers seemed to be frozen onto their wands. Whenever they laughed, their breath froze in the air next to them.

Fred pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. "It's been a few hours," he said, "Do you think we should head back up?"

They stopped off quickly at the kitchens to grab some hot chocolates and hurried back up to the Hospital Wing. When they arrived, Madame Pomfrey was supporting Bianca and trying to force her some water. She still looked deathly pale and thin, and her eyes remained closed, but she was clearly stirring, as her head lolled to the side, away from the glass of water.

Fred and George ran over immediately. Madame Pomfrey looked up at them and smiled, "Her breathing has improved and her pulse is stronger."

The twins beamed and Fred grabbed her hand; she was nowhere near as cold as she had been previously.

About half an hour later, Bianca groaned weakly and her hand flinched in Fred's grip. The group all sat up excitedly and Madame Pomfrey stood.

"Bea," Fred said softly, "Come on, Bea, squeeze my hand," her fingers twitched again, "That's it, good girl."

George took her other hand, "Now open your eyes," he urged gently, "You can do it, come on."

"It's way too bright in here," Bianca murmured quietly, without opening her eyes, "And you're all way too loud."

Fred and George pulled her into a hug, crying out in relief.

"Mr Weasley," Madame Pomfrey, "Will you please move away, I need to check on my patient."

The boys moved away but kept hold of her hands. Their friends were all beaming.

"I think you have a letter to write," Lee said, grinning while Madame Pomfrey asked Bianca how she was feeling, if she was in any pain and checked that she could move multiple body parts.

George grabbed a piece of parchment from his bag and scribbled, 'Bianca is awake. She's fine. Stop panicking. Love Gred and Forge.'

"Can you tell me what happened?" Madame Pomfrey asked kindly, "How much can you remember?"

"The last thing I remember is talking to George before I went back to the common room. He'd just turned to head back and join everyone else. I don't know anything after that. What happened?" Bianca's voice was very small, so everyone practically had to hold their breaths to hear her.

"We were hoping you could tell us that," Madame Pomfrey said, "Don't worry though I'm sure things will start coming back."

Fred and George quickly filled her in on what they knew which admittedly wasn't much more than she knew herself.

"Someone's trying to kill me," Bianca said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Lee got up, "Come on girls, why don't we go and send that letter for George?"

Madame Pomfrey went to retrieve a Calming Draught and the twins comforted Bianca, "Don't worry. From now on, you will have two permanent bodyguards by your side at all times. We're not going to let anyone touch you."

"Out, boys," Madame Pomfrey said, "She needs lots of rest to get her energy back and that isn't going to happen with you two watching her like hawks. Out!"

The boys both kissed Bianca on the cheek, flashed her a quick smile and left. Madame Pomfrey handed her a Calming Draught, waited while Bea drank it, took the glass back and left, instructing her to get some sleep. The draught, on top of how weak she felt and how foggy her brain was, meant she couldn't keep her eyes open for another couple of minutes, so her head flopped backwards and she fell into a deep sleep.

It took another few days for Bianca to be able to even sit up unaided, let alone stand or walk. About a week after she'd woken up, when she was finally starting to feel much better, the twins came into the Hospital Wing one evening in their dress robes.

Fred bowed slightly and stretched out his hand.

"What's going on?" Bianca looked at the boys, giggling slightly.

"It was Christmas last week," Fred said, "And there was a ball at school."

"It came to our attention that a certain somebody didn't get to dance with their two favourite boys," George continued.

"So we thought, better late than never, and would like to welcome you to your very own Yule Ball. Would you like this dance?"

Bianca laughed and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Fred took her hand and pulled her up, steadying her when she wobbled slightly. They moved to the centre of the room and Fred twirled her around and swayed. There was no music, but it was still sweet and Bianca appreciated the gesture.

"I'm wearing a hospital gown," Bianca said quietly.

"It's still a gown, isn't it?" Fred said, "I think you look great."

"I must say, there's a lot more room for movement in this. It's much more comfortable."

Fred spun her under his arm, and they danced for a few more minutes until Fred passed her onto George who took over and danced slightly faster than his brother.

"You can be sure to tell mum that we're proper gentlemen now," he said.

"What?"

"She decided you're more of a gentleman than me because you didn't let me walk you back to the common room."

"She blames you, doesn't she?" Bea said sadly.

"She blames everyone," George shrugged. He picked her up and spun her around, "But it's fine because now I've proved I'm a gentleman."

"That's the real reason for all this, is it? So you can get back in mum's good books?"

"Why else?" George winked.

The doors to the Hospital Wing opened and professor Dumbledore walked in, looking slightly amused.

"We thought Bea deserved a proper ball, sir," Fred explained, "Seeing as she missed the last one."

"An excellent and caring idea," the headmaster said, "I will let you finish."

George spun her around once more and bowed deeply. Bianca curtseyed and turned to face Dumbledore who was clapping enthusiastically.

"Most touching," he said, "I wondered if I might have a word with you all?"

"Of course, sir," Bianca returned to her bed and sat between Fred and George looking at Dumbledore.

"Can you remember anything else about Christmas night?" he asked Bianca.

"No, sir. Nothing."

"Madame Pomfrey seemed so sure your memory would return. How odd," he paused, "How are you feeling about returning to lessons with the rest of your classmates tomorrow?"

"I'm sure I'll be fine, sir, I've had plenty of time to work while I've been here."

"Excellent," Dumbledore smiled warmly, "Now, you know I don't like to be serious, but it is my duty to tell you that you are in danger."

"Like she hadn't figured that out already," George muttered jokingly.

"I don't know who is responsible, which concerns me greatly. I want you to stay close to Misters Weasley at all times, I'm sure they'll look out for you."

"We wouldn't let her take a step out of this room without us, sir, don't worry."

"Now, about the second task. Obviously, this has been a bit of a set back for you, but I'm sure you can work through it. I believe Madame Pomfrey has given you the all clear to leave, so why don't you head back to the common room."

"Sir," Bianca stopped him as he was leaving, "I don't have any clothes."

Dumbledore removed his wand from his robes and looked at her, "Are you sure?"

Bianca looked down, smiling when she saw her hospital gown had been changed for a set of Hogwarts robes. She thanked the headteacher, collected all her things from beside her bed which Fred and George immediately took from her and insisted to carry.

"You've made your point now," Bianca laughed, "I know, you're gentlemen, I get it."

She took their free hands and they headed to the exit, only to be stopped by Madame Pomfrey who lectured them for at least ten minutes on how she had to be careful, rest as much as possible and multiple other things which were all fairly obvious.

"Thank you, Madame Pomfrey," Bianca said appreciatively.

"My pleasure," the healer smiled, "All though I hope you'll understand that I don't want to see you here for a while."

"Not to worry," Fred said, "We'll look after her."

The twins marched her back to the common room and helped her up through the portrait hole. Even though they'd been to see her most days since her injury, her friends were by her side in a second, hugging her and telling her how glad they were she was ok. Bianca smiled tiredly and wrapped her arms around everyone. It was getting quite late and it was the last evening of the holidays, so they didn't stay up much longer after Lee, Angelina and Alicia had established why Fred and George were wearing dress robes and the girls had gushed over how sweet they were.

"Yes, yes, it's very sweet," Lee said, "Except we all know you only did it so your mother would still love you. Real gentlemen, you two."

"I think it's lovely," Alicia said.

Bianca yawned, "Yes, they're gorgeous. Can we go to bed now?"

Her friends laughed and they split towards their dorms. The twins handed Angelina Bianca's possessions and gave Bea a hug. Their reluctance to leave her made Bianca smile, but she squeezed their hands reassuringly and followed her roommates up to her dorm.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: I'm thinking about splitting this story into two so it's not insanely long seeing as I'm currently writing about ten chapters ahead of where I'm uploading but I'm only in the middle of the OotP. Let me know if you agree and where you think I should split it- maybe after GoF? Hope everyone's enjoying the story! :D

Chapter 29

The weeks leading up to the second task were very tiring. On the first day back in lessons, Bianca found it difficult to get through the entire day without falling asleep. She nearly toppled sideways into her lunch and dropped off several times in Charms. In History of Magic, the twins decided to just let her sleep instead of waking her up as they'd done every other time that day. They made sure to take notes for her so she wouldn't get annoyed. This happened for a couple of days, before finally her strength was back up to normal and she could get through the day without a power nap.

Fred and George had taken to stealing her golden egg to try and keep her alert. She constantly had to watch them and kept her egg by her side all the time. They'd often take it if she was sitting with Angelina or Alicia and she was pretty sure the twins had enlisted the help of the girls so she couldn't even leave it in their dorm out of their reach.

One evening in late January, when it had got so extreme that she even had to take the egg to the bathroom with her, Bianca had balanced the egg on the side of the bathtub while she ran some hot water into it and tied up her hair. She removed her robe and clambered into the bath, accidentally knocking the egg into the water with her foot. She cringed and plugged her ears, preparing herself for the usual screaming which erupted from the object. However she was surprised when the egg glowed slightly under the water. She moved some of the foam and bubbles to the side to look at it properly. The usual painful screech did come. Instead, a strangely angelic sound drifted out of it. Bianca reached into the water and grabbed hold of the egg. Slowly bringing it to the surface, she tightened her grip on it, not wanting to drop it or for it to slip out of her wet hands, but the second the egg was above the surface, the beautiful sound ceased and the ear-piercing shriek started again. She dropped it back into the water and flung her hands over ears. Carefully, she lowered herself into the water and, taking a deep breath, ducked her head under. An enchanting song drifted through the water:

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. And while you're searching, ponder this: we've taken what you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to look, and recover what we took. But past an hour, prospect's black. Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."

Bianca sat up and blinked water out of her eyes. She took a few seconds to compose herself, before turning her head horizontally and carefully submerging one ear into the water so that she could listen to the egg's song multiple times and still breathe. Once she was sure she would be able to recite it later, she carefully closed the egg and sealed it. Then she quickly washed herself and scrambled out the bath. She dried herself off, hastily got dressed, grabbed the egg and ran to Fred and George's dorm.

The boys were sitting cross-legged on the floor, working on their products when Bianca burst in. They looked up in surprise.

Fred cocked his head to one side, "What happened to your shirt?"

Bianca looked down. Somehow in her rush to come and find the twins, she'd managed to not only put her shirt on backwards, but also twisted so that her head was in an armhole and her arm was in the head hole.

"Doesn't matter," Bianca said, squirming and twisting around so that her limbs were in the correct places, only to find out that it was still back to front and also inside out. She sighed and continued, "I got the egg to stop screaming! It sings!"

"What?

"I was having a bath and-"

"You took the egg with you?"

"Yes, because a certain pair of people keep trying to steal it."

"So you bathe with it?"

"Stop changing the subject! Anyway, I was getting into the bath and I knocked it in and-"

"It sang?"

"Yes! It was like a riddle."

"Your golden egg sang a riddle?"

"Shut up and listen. When it was under the water, it spurted this riddle," she repeated the egg's clue to the twins.

George's brow creased, "They're going to steal something and hide it under water."

"How do you know it's underwater?" Bianca asked, "It could be underground."

"Well there's nothing really underneath Hogwarts, except a passage to Honeydukes, but there's a huge lake just over there," he pointed out the window, "It's probably easier to hide something effectively under a massive lake than in a straight corridor."

"But I can't hold my breath for an hour!"

"We'll work on that. We have nearly a month."

"Wait!" Fred shouted.

The others turned to look at him.

"Do you remember in first year when we asked Professor Flitwick if there was a charm to help us breathe underwater so we could swim with the giant squid?" Fred said excitedly, "And he started telling us about one because he was happy that we took so much interest in the subject."

"But then he realised why we'd asked and stopped," George continued, "What's your point?"

Fred slapped him. "Idiot. Because we can use whatever spell he was telling us about for the task!"

"Great!" Bianca cried, "What was the charm?"

"Give me a minute," Fred said, "I'll remember in a second."

Ten minutes later, Fred still hadn't remembered. Every time George or Bianca tried to talk, Fred put a finger up and shushed him.

"Right, well I'm going to bed," Bianca said, "Please feel free to stay sitting on the floor all night trying to remember. Goodnight, George."

"'Night."

Two weeks after Fred's stroke of genius, he still couldn't think of the spell. With only one week until the second task, he had taken to sitting in the library as soon as lessons finished until he found it one evening.

"I've got it!" he ran into the common room, "The bubble-head charm! The bubble-head charm!"

"The bubble-head charm?" Bianca said.

"The bubble-head charm!" Fred shouted.

"What's the bubble-head charm?" Bianca asked.

"The bubble-head charm-"

"If you say bubble-head charm one more time, I'm going to stuff your head down the toilet," George threatened.

Fred and Bianca shared a look and both whispered simultaneously, "Bubble-head charm."

George raised his eyebrow but returned to his potions essay, "You were saying."

"Yeah, it gives you an oxygen supply so you can breathe underwater. You can use it in the task!"

They started practising immediately. Once Bianca had managed to get a bubble around her head a couple of times, they headed to the bathroom where she dunked her head in the water to see if she could still breathe. After the first evening, she hadn't quite managed to successfully keep the charm up under the water for more than a couple seconds and she left the bathroom with George once he'd violently shoved his twin's head into the toilet and charmed it so he couldn't move.

The night before the task, the twins were walking back to the common room with Bianca when they were approached by Professor McGonagall.

"Mr Weasley," she said, "Fetch Miss Granger and your brother and come to my office as quickly as possible."

She turned to leave but the twins stopped her, "Professor, which one?"

"Fred!" she called back after a moment's hesitation and a long look of consideration between the two, "Now hurry!"

"I guess I'll see you later," Fred said with a shrug, "I best go and find our darling brother."

When George and Bianca got back to the common room, they sat for a while before George suggested she go and get some sleep.

"I'll wait for Fred," he said, "Sleep well, champ."

Bianca was surprised at how well she slept that night seeing as she was so full of nerves. Unknowing of what to expect, the next day, or even what she was meant to be finding was terrifying, but she'd perfected the charm now, and was certain she could keep it up for an hour, even if she needed to use other spells too.

At half-eight on the morning of the task, Bianca head down to breakfast with Angelina and Alicia. She joined Lee and George at the end of the table.

"Morning, champ," George smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Where's Fred?" Bianca asked.

George shrugged, "Don't know, he never came back from McGonagall's last night. I haven't seen Ron or Hermione either, actually," he added, "I'm not sure what they're doing."

Bianca frowned. She'd been counting on both of the twins' support for the tournament. Only having George there made her feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Let's head down," Lee suggested brightly, "I'm sure Fred will meet us there."

"I wonder what McGonagall wanted them all for," Angelina said.

"George," Bianca stopped dead still as they walked, "You don't think-"

"What? What is it?" he motioned for their friends to keep moving.

"Well it's just, Fred's my best friend, Ron's Harry's best friend and Hermione went with Krum to the Ball. What if the item they stole is-"

"They wouldn't!" George said, though he seemed unsure, "That's cruel!"

"Well it's not like I've noticed anything else particularly special missing."

George sighed, "We'll find out soon enough. It's going to be fine."

Bianca was so concerned about Fred, she barely thought at all about what she was doing as she walked out in front of the crowds. George had given her one last hug and disappeared to find the others. She told herself he'd met Fred, she convinced herself both of them were standing amongst the crowds somewhere, cheering and dancing for her.

Harry Potter's late arrival bought an unsurprising amount of attention as he sprinted onto the rocky bay mere seconds before the task was due to start. Bianca caught his eye, smiled encouragingly and mouthed 'You okay?'. He nodded, trying to regain his breath. Once he had composed himself, they were all ready to start.

"One… two… three!"

Bianca muttered the bubble-head charm and waded into the water. It was absolutely freezing; the water may as well have been ice cubes wrapped around her feet. Once she'd gone into the water far enough to be able to swim, she took a second to prepare herself for the cold which was about to encase her completely, and dove.

For a couple for minutes, she felt like she had to hold her breath, but when her lungs were ready to burst, she took a gulp of air, pleased that no water invaded her lungs. Deciding the best plan of action was to go down, Bianca swam as deep as she could. There were seaweed and underwater plants as far as she could see and, not wanting to lose all sense of direction on the forest of seagrass, she stayed slightly above them, looking around constantly as she swam. For over half an hour, she continued in one direction and was just about ready to turn and try a different path when a small creature emerged from the seaweed and grabbed hold of her ankle.

Jumping in surprise, Bianca stunned what she then could identify as a hinkypunk. She shook her head, trying to slow her heart which had raced unnaturally when the creature had appeared. Taking her small break to look around the murky lake, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her chest to try and warm up. Bianca was very relieved when she spotted Harry off in the distance, no bigger than the hinkypunk which had attacked her. He didn't seem to be swimming in any direction, and when Bianca squinted, she could see four figures floating next to Harry.

She took off, swimming as fast as she possibly could to reach Harry. Her heart was pounding and she was breathing so heavily that she was sure she'd use up whatever supply of oxygen this charm was giving her.

The closer she got, she managed to make out the soft sound of the song which the egg had performed. It suddenly clicked in her head- mermaids. Of course, mermaids couldn't sing above the surface! Feeling slightly silly for not realizing sooner, Bianca powered on, determined to get to where she could see Harry moving about, seemingly conversing with some mermaids.

After what felt like years, Bianca reached Harry. Her arms burned, but she didn't feel any of it when her eyes landed on Fred. Her heart panged painfully at seeing him in this strange, trance-like state. His head was resting on his chin and Ron was leaning against him. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and mouthed, 'Go! You can win this!' before moving forward and grabbing Fred's face. A stream of bubbles came from his mouth and floated up towards the surface. His cheeks were cold, and the murky water around him made his complexion look a very strange colour. Trying to ignore the mermaids who were hovering nearby, intimidatingly, Bianca cast a quick severing charm on the slimy rope which bound Fred to the sea bed below. She looked back to Harry, eyes wide, 'Go! Come on, you can do it!' before grabbing Fred's arm and hauling him upwards.

As if her arms and legs didn't hurt enough already, now she was powering herself and Fred, who was considerably heavier than her, towards the surface. His added dead weight dragged them both down, making it extremely difficult for her to make any progress.

Eventually, she gave up and cast a feather-light charm on Fred. Every so often, she'd stop and check to make sure he was ok before continuing up. The light above them, gradually getting brighter, was taunting her, making her desperate to reach fresh air and then feel disappointed when she couldn't have it. With one last burst of energy, Bianca pushed Fred up so his head broke the surface. She popped up next to him, grabbing his arm while he opened his eyes and figured out what was happening.

He turned to her, a huge grin on his face, "You did it!" he cried, somehow managing to engulf her in a hug whilst also staying afloat. He held her at arm's length and then kissed her on the forehead, and then each cheek. "I knew you'd do it! I'm so proud of you!"

Bianca laughed and then said jokingly, "You should be glad I decided to save you and not Ron. It took me a while to figure out which one was meant to be my prize."

"I'm hurt, Bea," Fred said with a smile. He winced slightly as a splash of water flew into his eye. Letting go of Bianca to rub it out, he said, "Stupid water. Why does it have to be so wet?"

Bianca giggled, "Let's go back to the shore, then. Where the water's less wet."

The pair turned towards the crowds who were all cheering excitedly. Bianca could see George waiting for them next to Percy on the bay before she felt something strong grasp her ankle for the second time that hour. But this grip was much harder and more painful than a hinkypunk. Before Fred had even heard her gasp, she was pulled back under the water. In her surprise, she had dropped her wand and could just about see it sinking next to her. Unable to twist so she could see her attacker, Bianca was forced to struggle and writhe, desperately trying to hold her breath.

For about a minute, Bianca was pulled straight down until the hand which had been holding her leg released it and it was replaced by what felt like a chain or piece of rope. And then she was stuck in that spot, unable to swim up or down, left or right. Her attacker remained out of sight, positioned just below her.

Bianca's lungs felt like they contained hundreds of grenades, each one exploding one after another.

As her vision faded, she saw Fred swimming desperately towards her from above and relief filled her. Fred would save her, he could help! But a flash of red light from below her hit him square in the chest. The last thing she saw was Fred slowly floating back up to the surface, unconscious.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

George watched in horror from the shore as Bianca vanished from sight and Fred dived down after her a few seconds later. He started forwards, only to be stopped by Percy placing a hand firmly on his chest. He nodded towards Dumbledore and the other judges who, as George watched, were tied up in a hurried discussion. Krum had resurfaced, looking slightly baffled at the lack of cheers or celebration for him. When he reached the shore with Hermione, Madame Pomfrey distractedly wrapped them both in towels but kept her eyes fixed on the water.

Then George felt Percy's hand drop and he snapped his head to look out across the lake. Fred was floating on this back, completely unmoving on the surface of the water. Bianca was nowhere to be seen.

"No, no, no," George muttered. His heart was being pulled in several different directions but he was rooted to the spot, forced to watch as Dumbledore cast a quick charm which allowed him to walk towards Fred while the water parted for him. He returned with the boy's unconscious body floating next to him before slowly lowering him to the rocky ground. Madame Pomfrey was there in a heartbeat, George not too far behind.

Madame Pomfrey sighed in relief, "He's only been stunned," she turned to Fred, dried him off with a quick spell, then said, "Rennervate."

Fred's eyelids flickered open and he gasped, sitting up, "Bianca."

George grabbed his brother by the shoulders, shoving away Madame Pomfrey who was trying to wrap him in a towel.

"George, where is she?" Fred asked, wrapping his arms around his brother's shoulders.

George shook his head, "I don't know."

Three heads popped up from the middle of the lake nearly ten minutes after Fred had. Harry, Ron and a young girl were struggling through the water, accompanied by half-hearted cheers. A couple of mermaids appeared with them, but a large group were gathered a few meters away, supporting a girl's lifeless body.

"Bea!" George screamed, "Bianca, no!"

Fred turned and gasped. He couldn't speak. He'd promised to protect her. He'd told her he'd be there for her, that nothing like this would happen! But then he'd been distracted by a tiny splash of water in her eye and now…

The twins got shakily to their feet and followed Percy, Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey to the water's edge. Professor McGonagall tried to stop them, placing a firm hand on their shoulders, but they tore away and surged forwards. Dumbledore was conversing rapidly with the merpeople when the twins got there and Madame Pomfrey was checking on Bianca.

"Slight pulse," she muttered quietly, "No breath."

"What?" George demanded, "She's not breathing?"

"Please be calm, Mr Weasley, I can handle this."

She flicked her wand and tilted Bianca's head back gently, allowing a stream of water to flow from her mouth and form a swirling ball of water in mid-air. Madame Pomfrey banished the water quickly and asked Percy to help prop Bianca up so that she wasn't lying flat. A few flicks of the wand later, Bianca was breathing slowly and Madame Pomfrey had wrapped her in a blanket which was charmed with a warming spell.

Fred and George clung onto each other, fingers crossed. They didn't realise how tense they were until Bianca opened her eyes slowly and all of their muscles relaxed and they let loose a breath they didn't know they'd been holding.

Bianca suddenly lurched away from Percy's hold, leaned to the side and vomited. Fred and George cringed but were by her side in a second, holding her close and stroking her back. When she looked up at them, her eyes were unfocused and glassy and her whole body shook. Fred held her tightly, trying to soothe her as she hyperventilated.

"It's ok," he told her quietly, "You're safe, I've got you." He twisted her around so she couldn't see the water and George helped him calm her.

It took a while, but Bianca finally relaxed against Fred's chest and gripped George's hand.

"I think-" she stuttered, "I think someone's trying to kill me."

George looked at Fred sadly and said, "Like we'd let that happen."

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us, Bea," Fred agreed, "We just love you too much."

Madame Pomfrey ushered the boys away so she could treat Bianca properly. After a few more vomiting spells and one coughing fit, Bianca was allowed to unsteadily join Fred and George for the scores so Madame Pomfrey could fuss over Harry instead.

"They can't give me good marks after that," she said, "I nearly died."

"But that wasn't anything to do with the task," George said, "You had already completed it when-"

"I drowned, yeah. But still."

"You came first, Bea. You're allowed to be proud of yourself."

"I've nearly died three times this year," Bianca said, "And one of those times was about half an hour ago. Excuse me if I'm not filled with elation right now."

"Yeah, there's probably too much water in your lungs to leave room for any elation," Fred joked.

Bianca laughed and turned to listen to Dumbledore announce the scores.

"Bianca, who also used the bubble-head charm, was first to return with her hostage, though she returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. I have been informed that any complications were not related to the task. We therefore award her forty-seven points!"

Fred and George cheered loudly and hugged her so hard it bought on a dizzy spell which promptly led to more vomit. The boys looked slightly guilty and Percy marched over immediately to tell them off.

"Sorry, Perce," Fred said with a smirk, "We're just very proud."

Percy didn't look convinced but turned to Bianca formally, "Congratulations," he shook her hand, "Very impressive, despite complications."

Bianca nodded weakly and said, "Thank you, Percy."

"Complications," Fred laughed as their brother walked away, "What crazy school do we go to that drowning is a complication, not a national issue?"

"I thought you liked a bit of danger," Bianca said, wiping her mouth with a tissue.

"Not when it's you that's in danger," George said, "We'd prefer to keep you somewhere safe."

"That's no fun," Bianca pouted, "You'd get bored without me."

"There wouldn't be anyone to save every five minutes," Fred said, "It'd make life a lot easier."

Bianca shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, "I think you'll find, Fred Weasley, that I just saved you from the bottom of the lake."

"Yeah, but you nearly died in the process."

"And what happened when you tried to come and save me?" Bianca teased, "Couldn't even defend yourself from a stunning spell."

"Ouch, Bea. That stung," Fred said, "And I wouldn't have had to dive down to save you in the first place if you didn't vanish so dramatically."

"Hey! It's not my fault someone's trying to kill me!" Bianca protested.

"It most certainly is not," Dumbledore appeared behind the twins holding Bianca's wand, "I believe this belongs to you?"

"Thank you, sir."

"I don't suppose you have any idea of who did this to you?" he indicated to her green-tinted face, slightly blue lips and shivering body.

"No, sir," Bianca said, "But if I think of anything, I'll come and tell you straight away."

"Thank you," Dumbledore nodded, "Now may I suggest perhaps a relaxing afternoon by the fire? And maybe a nice hot chocolate? I daresay you know where you might find one." He winked and left.

Bianca waited with Fred and George on the rocky beach until most of the crowds had cleared until turning to head back to the castle. Bianca was sitting, knees tucked up to her chest, taking slow but shaky breaths to try and get rid of the horrid nauseating feeling she had. Fred and George stood next to her, waving over Lee, Angelina and Alicia. The three ran over to meet their friends.

"Don't hug her," Fred warned as they neared, "Unless you want a vomit shower."

Bianca stuck her tongue out and got to her feet to hug her friends, stumbling slightly. Fred and George pretended to hide behind each other.

"Really supportive, you two are," Angelina said, keeping one arm around Bianca's middle to help.

"It's our best quality," Fred said.

"You did so well, Bea," Alicia said, ignoring the twins, "You came first!"

"Harry should have been first," Bianca said modestly, "He was there ages before I was."

"The poor sod probably just didn't want to save Ron. I know I would have preferred to leave him there."

"Speaking of saving people," George said, "I have a bone to pick with you."

Bianca shuddered slightly and looked at him, "What?"

"Why did you have to save Fred? Do you prefer him or something?"

"Course not," Bianca smiled cheekily, "I reckon McGonagall thought he'd make a better damsel in distress."

George nodded, "I suppose I'm much too manly to have to be rescued."

"I'm right here!" Fred said angrily, "And I'm manly too!"

"Of course you are, dear," Angelina patted him on the shoulder, before turning to the others and whispering loudly, "He even pouts like a girl."

"That's it," Fred walked over to George and scooped him up bridal style, "Who's a damsel now?"

George pretended to swoon and sighed dramatically, throwing his head back, "Oh, Fred, you've saved me! My hero!"

Fred marched off in the direction of the castle, carrying George like a princess.

"Shouldn't you have a noble steed?" George asked.

"Shut up and swoon," Fred snapped back, "I'm your hero, remember. Don't complain."

Angelina helped Bianca move steadily after the boys, but while Fred and George were already on the main path leading back to the castle, it took them several minutes just to get off the bay.

"It's going to take hours to get back," Bianca sighed, readjusting her blanket for about the tenth time- it kept slipping off her shoulders!

"A steed would be good round about now," Lee agreed, "Maybe if I kneel down and pretend to be a horse, you can sit on my back and-"

"It would take even longer to get back?" Alicia said, "Maybe not."

"Come on, slowcoaches," Fred's voice came from above them.

"What's taking so long?" George shouted.

The three looked up to see the twins sitting on their brooms, hovering above their heads. Fred landed gracefully next to them and held his hand out for Bianca, "Are you in need of a ride, good lady?"

Bianca smiled and climbed on carefully behind Fred. She wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him close, resting her head on his back. Fred kicked off and flew up slowly so he was next to George.

"Meet you in the common room," George yelled to the others, "We'll bring the drinks."

The twins sped up and zoomed towards the castle. Bianca, still feeling slightly nauseous held onto Fred tighter and squeezed her eyes shut, enjoying the calm of the soft wind brushing through her hair and tickling her neck.

"You ok?" Fred shouted back to her.

"Dizzy," Bianca said, "But it's fine. This is nice."

"We can land and walk," Fred suggested.

Bianca shook her head, "I don't want to walk any further than I have to. Besides, I just said, I like this."

"If you say so," Fred smiled to himself as he felt Bianca snuggle into his shoulder. He could feel how cold she was even with the warmed blanket and wanted to get her to the fire in the common room as soon as he could. He looked at George and they shared a look both gradually picking up the pace a little.

The landed by the broom shed and Fred helped Bianca off and dragged her towards the castle while George ran to put the brooms away. They'd just reached the doors when he caught up to them again

The three trooped towards the kitchens happily. Bianca was desperately trying to remember anything about the previous events that might help. There was no one standing on the shore that looked as though they'd been in the water except the champions and those who they'd saved, but that meant nothing; when you're a wizard, you can dry yourself off in seconds. She hadn't seen anyone when she'd been swimming up with Fred, but she'd been focused on making sure he was alright and not paying much attention to her surroundings.

As for the attack on Christmas, she suspected her memory must have been modified. She doubted there was any way she'd get from the Great Hall to that passageway and not remember any of it, especially if there were people around to witness it.

That evening in the common room, Bianca cuddled with Fred and George like they'd always done if one of them was ill when they were little. Something about each other's warmth and presence was an unofficial medicine to the three of them, just being with each other made them feel better.

When Fred had the flu as a baby, Mrs Weasley had put him down on the sofa and Bianca and George had clambered up onto the seat and lay down on either side of him. The next morning when they woke up, Fred's temperature had gone down and he was feeling much better. When George had a cold as a toddler, Fred and Bianca had slept in his bed at night, hugging him from each side. The day after, George's coughs had reduced to minimum and he'd felt well enough to go out and play. Sticking together was a safety belt for them- nothing would happen if they were close by to one another.

So now, Bianca was squished in between the boys, sipping her hot chocolate and happily recounting what had happened in between going into the lake and resurfacing with Fred. Her friends listened intently.

"So all you really did," George said, "Was swim for half an hour, fight off a hinkypunk, swim for a bit more, cut a rope and finish it all of with some more swimming? That doesn't sound like much of a challenge. Unless you can't swim."

"Or cut a rope," Fred said.

"Or have a phobia of hinkypunks," George added.

Bianca smiled and closed her eyes, happy to sit and listen lazily to her friends. The group sat together and joked for a long time, the conversation gradually moving away from the task and tournament. Bianca drifted off quite quickly, feeling very safe and relaxed between Fred and George. The twins fell asleep not long after, their arms wrapped around Bianca. Angelina and Alicia, who had been squished onto one armchair, had dozed off with their heads on each other's shoulders. Lee had stifled a laugh at his friends, unused to seeing them so still and quiet before settling down on a sofa, legs stretched out across the seat.

The next few days were thankfully fairly calm. Lessons were not too challenging and nothing particularly eventful happened until their first lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts after the second task.

The class had taken their seats, Bianca next to Angelina and behind Fred and George when Professor Moody came in. The second Bianca heard his wooden leg clunk into the room, a horrible feeling washed over her as if she'd been showered in pure ice. The closer he got to her desk, the more she felt she had to shuffle into Angie and hide.

"What's wrong?" Angelina asked.

Bianca smiled, "Nothing, I'm fine."

Fred and George peered back at her over her shoulder and she flashed them a thumbs up. She spent the lesson with her fists clenched, trying to calm her racing heart, but when Mad-Eye slammed his hands onto the desks and looked at her, demanding to know the answer to a question, her mind flashed back to lying on the stone floor in the passageway, staring straight into the eyes of her attacker. Her chair toppled back and she fell to the floor, blinking in shock. The whole class turned to stare at her as she sheepishly got to her feet and righted her chair.

"Sorry, sir," she said, "You frightened me."

"Maybe it would do you better to pay more attention."

"Yes, sir." Her eyes flicked down to his clenched fists and she could imagine them gripped around her ankle, pulling her deep under the Black Lake. She shook her head and tried to focus for the rest of the lesson, waiting impatiently for them to be dismissed so she could go and speak to Dumbledore.

When Professor Moody finally allowed them to leave, Bianca hurriedly told Fred and George where she was going and ran off. Realising she didn't know where Dumbledore's office was, she changed course for Professor McGonagall's classroom.

She knocked politely on the door and entered, "Professor, I need to speak to Professor Dumbledore."

McGonagall looked up at her over her glasses, "May I ask what for?"

"I think I know who attacked me," Bianca said quietly.

She'd never seen a teacher move so fast. Seemingly seconds later, she was standing with a fist raised ready to knock on Dumbledore's office door. Professor McGonagall pushed the door open and let her in, only for her heart to sink when she saw who was keeping the headmaster company. None other than Mad-Eye Moody was standing next to the headmaster's desk, deep in conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir," Bianca said, "I can come back later."

She turned, but Professor McGonagall blocked the door, nodding encouragingly.

"Bianca," Dumbledore stood, "It's no problem, how can I help you?"

"She says she can remember who attacked her," McGonagall supplied from behind her. Out of the corner of her eye, Bianca saw Mad-Eye straighten slightly and look at her. She cursed inwardly.

"You have? This is excellent."

Bianca looked at Dumbledore, hoping desperately he'd understand what she was about to do.

"It was a student," she lied easily, "I think he's in seventh year. Malcolm Barrick, I think his name is."

She used the first name that came to her head, keeping eye contact with Dumbledore. He would know this person wasn't really a student, but Mad-Eye wouldn't, which was exactly what she needed. He studied her, silencing McGonagall who had opened her mouth to object with a raised finger.

"You seem surprised, sir," Bianca said.

"Yes," Dumbledore said slowly, "I can't think of a time he's ever done such a thing."

"I'm sure of it, sir," Bianca said, "I think he must have tried a memory charm but I suddenly just remembered everything."

"And he did this, out of jealousy?"

"I don't know, sir," Bianca said.

"We'll see to it," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, I believe he takes Transfiguration for NEWTs?"

McGonagall looked baffled but nodded.

"Well then, I'll be dropping in to see him in his next lesson. You do not teach him, Alastor?"

"No," Mad-Eye said gruffly. Bianca chose to ignore how his eyes were attached to her.

Dumbledore looked to his colleagues and said, "I would like to clarify a few things with Bianca. If you would be so kind as to leave us for a few moments. Please take no actions towards this student until I had said so."

Once the two teachers had left and their voices had both dimmed to nothing more than a mumble, the headteacher looked at his student.

"A brief moment of genius, I must say," he said to her, "Now may I ask why you wouldn't reveal your true attacker in or company?"

"It was Professor Moody sir," Bianca said, "I know it sounds ridiculous but I promise I'm not lying. He was there when I left the ball and he walked me towards the kitchen. He kept saying how he knew who my parents were and then he said that he'd been told to… to kill me and then next thing I know I'm in that passageway and he's attacking me, trying to figure out the best way to make it look the least suspicious. And Fred and George said he was there when they found me, it might not have been a coincidence! And he wasn't on the shore after the second task, I didn't see him anywhere for ages. I know you trust him, sir but he's not who he seems to be. Please believe me."

"Slow down," Dumbledore said, "I believe you."

"What?"

"I said I believe you."

Bianca sighed in relief, "Thank you, sir. What do I do now? If Professor Moody finds out that Malcolm Barrick isn't really a student-"

Dumbledore put up a hand to stop her and picked up his wand. Pieces of parchment flew from the cupboards and several quills started writing hurriedly on them. When they'd finished, Dumbledore lowered his glasses and read over them all quickly.

"May I present to you all the school records of Mr Malcolm Barrick, including all exam reports, his OWL results and," he paused and looked up at Bianca, "His expulsion papers."

Bianca beamed at her headmaster, "Thank you so much, sir."

"I will inform all staff of what is going on, just in case. I'm afraid there are no actions I can take towards Professor Moody until there is solid evidence, but I can assure you that you will be well protected."

Bianca nodded and smiled, before thanking Dumbledore once more and running off to find Fred and George.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Bianca entered Fred and George's dormitory to find George lying on the floor and the whole room smelling awful. She looked at Fred, trying not to gag and he smirked at her.

"We're testing our products," he explained nonchalantly, "George had a Fainting Fancy. Pop this in his mouth, he'll be fine in a sec."

Bianca took what looked like a chewy sweet and carefully placed it in George's mouth. A few seconds later, nothing had happened so she went back to Fred who was sitting on the floor, writing a letter.

"Hm, that's never happened before," Fred said, "We didn't change anything."

He retrieved his wand from his bedside table and said, "Aguamenti," but the wand simply turned into a rubber chicken and cawed uselessly at him.

"We really need to stop leaving these lying around," he laughed, looking around the room for his actual wand. When he finally found it underneath George's bed, he tried the spell again. This time George got a huge splash of cold water in the face and sat upright immediately and scowled at Fred, "What was that for?"

"Sweet didn't work," Fred shrugged, "I didn't really fancy leaving you there, it was a safety hazard. I could have tripped."

George shook himself off like a dog and turned his nose up, "What's that smell?"

"Oh, the Puking Pastilles work," Fred said smiling, "Both ends."

"Excellent," George clapped his hands together, "I wonder what went wrong with the Fainting Fancies."

"Finish this letter," Fred said, "I'll make another batch. Maybe we just made a mistake."

"Who's the letter to?" Bianca asked, plopping herself on Fred's bed.

"Bagman," George said sourly, "He's still ignoring us and we kinda want our money back."

Fred looked up from stirring his cauldron, "Where did you rush off to? All I heard was something about Dumbledore."

Bianca quickly explained about where she'd been and how Dumbledore had helped.

"Mad-Eye?" George said, shocked, signing the letter off, "Never would have guessed that."

"Me neither," Fred said, "Although some of the stuff he's shown us in class has been a bit off."

"Yeah well, I'll be avoiding him to the best of my ability for the rest of the year," Bianca shivered.

The three spent the afternoon in the twins' dorm, brainstorming and inventing. Once Fred had finished a second batch of Fainting Fancies, he and Bianca both tried them to make sure there was nothing wrong but George adamantly refused, instead taking down notes on the ideas they'd had.

They set off early for dinner, intending to send their letter off before they ate.

Bianca allowed herself to enjoy the four months that lead up to the final task. There was no point dwelling over things that had already happened, and as long as she stayed close by to Fred and George and was extra wary in Mad-Eye Moody's lessons, there was no need for any worry.

The twins' business was going better than any of them had expected so early on. They were extra careful in disguising order forms as homework parchment and had hidden cubbyholes all over their dorms for products. They were still wary about selling the edible products so instead promoted their fake wands and Screaming Yo-Yos. Once or twice they'd planted Nose-Biting Teacups in Professor Trelawny's room, only to hear all sorts of stories about how the OWL students had been attacked while reading their tea leaves. Upon hearing this, Fred and George were momentarily regretful about not taking Divination.

One evening when Bianca went up to the boy's room, she found Fred, George and Lee hiding under umbrellas. The entire room was soaking wet and clouds were pushed up against the ceiling.

"Why is it raining?" she asked as Fred pulled her under his umbrella.

"Lee knocked over the Weather in a Bottle stash by George's bed," Fred explained as a crack of thunder sounded.

"You didn't tell me it was there!" Lee shouted.

"You have eyes!" Fred retorted, "It's not like they were hidden!"

"How do you make it stop?" Bianca asked, wincing as there was a flash of lightning.

"You can't!" George said, "It's designed as a distraction more than anything. They're meant to go away on their own."

"Will that happen before or after we drown?" Bianca asked sarcastically.

They all looked down at the pond that was the boy's dorm.

"Before?" Fred said, but he didn't sound certain.

Thankfully, it didn't take too much longer for the torrential rain to turn to drizzle and then stop completely and then all it took was a few drying spells to have the room back to normal.

"Pass the notebook, George," Fred requested, shaking off his umbrella and reaching out a hand. Once he had the book, he retrieved a quill and wrote while reading aloud, "Weather in a Bottle: don't leave in large batches next to idiots."

"Hey," Lee said, "That's not fair. I didn't know. They just look like water."

"And you like to just happily kick over bottles of water, do you?" George said with a smirk.

"No, but-" Lee stopped himself, "Never mind. I'm sorry."

Fred transfigured the three umbrellas back into a fake wand, a quill and a toothbrush respectively and turned to Bianca, "Now that there's no flood risk, how can we help you this fine night?"

"I was just coming up for a chat," Bianca said, "But no one told me there was a weather warning."

"We like to keep any visits to our room as unpredictable as possible," George said.

"I know, I've lived with you for sixteen years," Bianca said.

"And tell me," Fred said, "Have you ever walked into our room and been disappointed?"

"Disappointed, yes. Unsurprised, no."

"What?" the twins demanded.

"Well I can't say I was too happy when you set off fireworks inside and burnt all my clothes so I had to wear Ginny's for several weeks."

"We told you we were sorry," Fred said.

"Yeah, and we switched clothes too so you weren't the only one wearing other people's clothes," George said.

"You practically have the same wardrobes anyway!" Bianca laughed.

"Well we weren't going to borrow Percy's clothes, were we?" Fred said seriously, "We don't love you that much."

"Why thank you."

At the very end of May, Bianca was stopped on her way out of Defence Against the Dark Arts by Professor Moody. Her heart immediately beat ten times faster and Fred and George stopped in their tracks, both placing a hand on their wands in their robes.

"Quidditch pitch, nine o clock," their teacher said gruffly, "Mr Bagman wants to speak with you and the other champions about the final task."

Bianca nodded sharply and left with the twins.

"You're not going by yourself," George said as soon as they were out of hearing.

"I'll check with Harry," Bianca said, "Make sure he got the same message and if he did, I'll go with him."

George looked at Fred, unconvinced, but they continued to dinner together. They took seats next to Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Hey," Bianca smiled at them, "Harry did you get told about meeting Bagman tonight?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "McGonagall told me. Want to walk down together after?"

"Sure," Bianca smiled and turned back to the twins, "See it's fine."

It was with great reluctance that Fred and George let Bianca go down to the Quidditch pitch with Harry later that night.

"Why are Fred and George so wound up?" Harry asked her.

Bianca laughed, "They're convinced I'm going to get attacked again. They don't let me go anywhere alone."

"Oh," Harry said.

"I think if they could they'd escort me through the final task."

Harry smiled, "Speaking of, what do you reckon it's going to be?"

"Apparently Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels, she reckons we've got to find treasure."

"That wouldn't be so bad," Harry pondered.

The pair stopped when they got to the once pristine Quidditch pitch.

"What have they done to it?" Bianca gasped.

"They're hedges!" Harry said.

They inspected the small shrubbery which was littered across the pitch and clambered over them to get to where Bagman, Fleur and Krum were standing. Bagman quickly explained about the maze and the final task, taking care to reassure Harry and Bianca that they'd have their Quidditch pitch back afterwards. When he'd finished, he looked around the champions, "Very well… if you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly…"

When Krum tapped Harry on the shoulder, requesting a word, Bianca turned to watch them go off.

"I'll wait for you, Harry, shall I?" Bagman offered quickly.

"No, it's ok, Mr Bagman. I think I can find the castle on my own, thanks," Harry looked at Bianca who smiled and signalled that she'd wait before he followed Krum.

"Mr Bagman," Bianca said politely, "I'd like a word, if you don't mind."

He looked at her awkwardly, obviously realizing what she was going to say, "Actually, I'm in a bit of a rush."

"But you had time for Harry, sir," she pointed out with a smile.

He shuffled awkwardly and looked at her.

"You still owe my friends money, Mr Bagman," Bianca said, "They won it fairly."

"Listen here, it's not my fault they lost their winnings," he said rudely.

"We both know that's not what happened," Bianca said sweetly, "They've been contacting you all year. Don't tell me all of those owls got lost."

"I don't know what you mean."

"I'll put it simply for you, then," Bianca said, "You made a bet with Fred and George. They won."

"And I gave them their money!"

"In leprechaun gold," Bianca continued, "Which vanishes. And now, your obvious money problems are preventing you from being honest and paying them back. So, I suggest, you apologise to the twins and give them back their money as soon as you possibly can."

She seriously doubted this had any effect on the man, but he nodded and rushed away. Bianca shook her head and looked around for Harry. It was starting to get dark and there was no sign of him until suddenly, he ran past her. She grabbed her arm and looked at her frantically, pointing in the direction he'd just come.

"Go… Krum… Crouch… forest," he panted, "Need Dumbledore."

Bianca nodded and, lighting her wand, headed off in the way Harry had come while he continued sprinting up to the castle.

It took her a while to find Krum, but when she finally did, the sky was completely dark and he was lying on the ground. Barty Crouch was nowhere to be seen which she found odd. Why had Harry mentioned him?

"Viktor?" Bianca knelt down next to the boy, looking around to make sure no one was around. A rustling in the trees made her head snap up and instinctively she cast a protective charm just in time to stop a stunning spell hitting her. Jumping to her feet, she intensified the light from her wand and peered into the forest but her attention was pulled away by someone shouting.

"Viktor?" Harry's voiced echoed, "Bianca?"

"Harry!" she shouted back, "Over here!"

She stepped back as Harry hurried over with Dumbledore and allowed the man to wake up Krum and ask what happened. When Hagrid appeared with a crossbow a few seconds later Bianca was a little surprised and moved closer to Harry.

"Hagrid, I need you to fetch Professor Karkaroff, his student has been attacked. When you've done that, kindly alert Professor Moody-"

Bianca looked up at Dumbledore in shock but her blood ran cold when Mad-Eye himself limped forward as if summoned by his name. She listened silently as Karkaroff argued with Dumbledore and followed close behind Hagrid when he escorted her and Harry back to the castle. The giant was in such a terrible mood after his fight with Durmstrang's headmaster, Harry and Bianca were relieved to climb through the portrait hole. With a quick smile to each other, the pair split and Bianca sat with Fred and George while Harry joined Ron and Hermione. She was half tempted not to tell the twins what had happened but they could see by the way she entered the common room that something was wrong so naturally, they forced her to explain.

"I knew we should have gone with you," George sighed when she'd finished.

"I can look after myself, George," Bianca said kindly. She'd missed out the detail of someone trying to stun her through the trees, "Nothing happened to me, anyway."

"But it could have," Fred pointed out.

"You can't go around thinking like that. I would have been equally at risk if you'd been there with me. Besides, I'm fine, we can move on. There's no point wondering what might have happened if I did something differently because that's not what happened."

"We're just worried," George said.

"Well it doesn't suit you," Bianca said, "It's sweet of you but I'm safe here. I promise."

The twins nodded glumly, no doubt thinking about all the terrible things that could have happened to her alone in the forest.

"Can I have Fred and George back now?" Bianca asked, "They seem to have switched themselves for two glum lumps that have no sense of adventure or humour."

She poked Fred's shoulder and when he didn't respond or cheer up straight away, started to tickle him. Naturally this led to nothing but a full-blown tickle fight between the three in the middle of the common room. Most of the students watched with confusion while some laughed or just continued with what they were doing.

When George finally surrendered and collapsed into an armchair and Fred and Bianca flopped onto the floor in exhaustion, a majority of the Gryffindors had gone up to bed.

"You never told us what the task was," George panted.

Bianca took a second to catch her breath and explained, "They're building a maze on the Quidditch pitch. We have to get through it to the centre where the cup is. Whoever gets there first wins."

"It's growing on the pitch, eh?" Fred said, "We could easily make a map of it now, while it's still small."

"That's cheating," Bianca giggled, "Besides, it's magic. Knowing this tournament, it'll probably change anyway."

"Alright," George said, "We'll grab our brooms and fly above the maze to show you where you need to go."

Bianca shook her head, "You know I'm not interested in winning. I just want to survive."

"You've done that so far," Fred pointed out, "Why not go for it?"

"Because knowing my luck this year, if I focus on winning, I'll get distracted and end up getting killed."

"Ever the optimist," Fred muttered.

"Just because you two want to run around being heroic and dangerous, trying to win, doesn't mean I want to," Bianca said.

"Yeah, but even if we'd managed to enter and one of us was selected to be champion, and if one of us was then killed during the tournament, there's still another one."

"No one knows who's who anyway, whichever one survived could just spend their life being both of us."

Bianca snorted, "That's a great plan. Except there'd only be one of you in lessons and then only one when we got back home for summer and then one day someone would have to run a no doubt very successful business all by themselves, while also pretending to be two people."

"On second thoughts," George said, "I don't think I'd like not being a twin."

"Me either," Fred said, "I guess it's a good thing we didn't enter."

The next day, Fred and George decided to try once more to write to Mr Bagman. Bianca told them about his reluctance to cooperate the night before and so the twins had written one more letter. Fred had insisted on trying to blackmail him somehow.

The three were heading up to the owlery to send their letter when they ran into Harry Ron and Hermione.

"What are you doing here?" Ron and Fred said at the same time.

"Sending a letter," Harry and George said.

"What, at this time?" Hermione and Bianca asked together.

Fred laughed, "Fine, we won't ask what you're doing if you don't ask us." He moved his hand so it covered Bagman's name, "Don't let us hold you up."

"Who're you blackmailing?" Ron said.

"I was only joking," George lied easily, moving over to Fred.

"It didn't sound like that."

"I told you I was joking," George took the letter from Fred and walked across the room. A barn owl flew down so he could attach the letter to it. Ron seemed outraged by their behaviour, telling them how much trouble they could get in.

"Stop telling people what to do, Ron," George said and the three turned to leave after watching the owl fly off, "See you later."

"What a nosy git," Fred said.

"He probably has more secrets than we do but we don't go snooping into his life," George fumed.

"It's just because we're so much cooler than he is," Fred decided, "He's trying to take notes."

"He can start with not poking his nose where it doesn't belong."

For the final days leading up to the third task, Bianca dedicated her spare time to practising any defensive or generally useful spells she knew as preparation. Fred and George decided it would be useful to jump out at her at random times so she could get used to surprises. It was only when Bianca hexed them both in a full body-bind curse and left them there for five hours until they finally stopped.

On June 23rd, Bianca spent most of the day alone as George, Fred and the rest of her friends were in exams. She decided to locate Harry and they practised together, duelling and working on spells until late when they returned to the common room, exhausted.

Before they went to bed, Bianca stopped Harry, "It'll be fine, tomorrow. You'll do great."

Harry smiled, though his nerves were clear, "Thanks. You'll be great too."

"How about if we see each other, we help each other out? I'm guessing you're not really in it to win it either."

Harry nodded, "Yeah. I'd like that."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Bianca didn't want to get out of bed on the morning of the final task. Angelina and Alicia had to literally drag her out of bed and carry her to the door. It was only the thought of being thrown into the common room in her pyjamas with a horrible bed head that forced Bianca to get up and ready.

She sat between the twins at breakfast, munching half-heartedly on some cereal. Her friends had a Charms exam in the morning, but promised to find her afterwards. Bianca was glad she didn't have to do the usual end of year exams; she was so jittery, she probably would have forgotten how to write in English. When the others left to go to their exam, Bianca scooted along the bench to sit with Harry and Ron.

Professor McGonagall approached them from behind, "The champions are congregating in the chamber off the hall after breakfast."

Harry missed his mouth with his fork and spilt his scrambled eggs down his robes, "But the task's not 'til tonight!"

"I'm aware of that, Potter," McGonagall said as Ron and Bianca stifled a laugh, "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

Harry looked astounded and spent the next few minutes trying to figure out who would be there for him. Ron vanished to go to his History of Magic exam.

"Ready, Harry?" Bianca asked.

"You go," he said sadly, "No one will be there for me."

"McGonagall wouldn't have come over to tell you to meet everyone there if that was true. Come on."

Harry muttered something about the Dursleys but followed Bianca down the hall and into the chamber. Bianca looked around and immediately spotted who had come to watch her and Harry.

She ran into Bill's arms while Mrs Weasley greeted Harry.

"You alright?" Bill asked him, still hugging Bea, "Charlie wanted to come but couldn't get the time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail."

Bianca moved on to hug Mrs Weasley.

"Hello, dear," she said kindly, "How are you? Percy told me what happened at the second task and-"

Bianca smiled, "I'm fine. Fred and George look after me."

"I should certainly hope so." Bianca could tell her mum was still annoyed about them leaving her alone on Christmas so was quick to inform her that they didn't leave her side.

"Fancy giving us a tour?" Bill asked Harry, wrapping his arm around Bianca's shoulder. She beamed up at him only to find him staring across the room at Fleur Delacour. She swiftly elbowed him in the ribs and raised an eyebrow. He smirked and shook his head before following Harry out of the chamber.

They had a lovely morning walking around the grounds. Bianca told Bill about everything that had happened until they joined Fred, George, Ron and Ginny for lunch. They were all delighted to see their mother and brother again and lunch didn't last nearly long enough for any of their liking.

Harry and Bianca used the afternoon to show Mrs Weasley and Bill around the castle. Neither of the Gryffindor champions ate much at the feast that night. Every so often they'd send each other a reassuring look before returning to stare at their food miserably. Fred took Bianca's hand at some point and didn't let go until Dumbledore stood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch pitch for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr Bagman down to the stadium now?"

Bianca shook her head, suddenly full of terror. The twins wrapped her in a hug she wished she could stay in forever. Her family all wished her luck and Fred and George gave her one last hug and both kissed her on the cheek gently.

The next ten minutes passed in a blur. Bianca didn't pay much attention to what she was told by Bagman or McGonagall, choosing instead to focus on the warm embrace of the twins and how welcoming it would be when she'd got through the task.

And then suddenly, "So… on my whistle, Harry and Bianca!" Bagman was shouting, "Three- two- one-"

With one last look at each other and one short blast of Bagman's whistle, Bianca and Harry entered the maze, running away from the huge roaring crowds behind them.

"We're staying together, right?" Harry asked Bianca shakily.

"Of course," Bianca smiled, "We'll be fine."

The whistle blew again and then a final time a few minutes later. Everyone was in the maze. The maze was eerily dark and the hedges towered high above them. Bianca lit her wand and Harry looked down at his own.

"Point me," he whispered, holding it flat on his palm. The wand spun and landed pointing to their right.

Bianca whistled appreciatively, "Where'd you learn that?"

"Moody," Harry mumbled. Bianca wished she hadn't asked.

The lack of obstructions they had faced was deeply unnerving as time ticked on. Neither one talked, too scared it would alert something to their presence. Harry walked a few steps ahead of Bianca him, looking ahead and her covering their backs. They both stopped dead when a scream shattered the horrible silence of the dark maze.

"Fleur," they both said together and took off in the direction it had come from. Unfortunately, that meant running straight through a cloud of thick mist before them. Everything flipped upside down and Harry had to grasp onto his glasses to stop them falling into the endless sky.

"What do we do?" Harry asked.

"Try walking" Bianca suggested, "See what happens."

As soon as they forced a foot off the ground, everything was back the correct way and they fell to their knees.

"Come on," Bianca helped Harry to his feet and they tried to figure out which way they had been going.

"Oh my- Harry," Bianca stopped as a huge Blast-Ended Skrewt appeared behind them. It was at least ten feet long and looked deadly.

The pair started firing curses at it continuously until finally Harry hit it with one and it froze, completely unable to move.

"Run!" he said, "It'll be able to move again in a second."

But in the chaos of getting away from the beast, Harry and Bianca were separated and Bianca found herself alone in the maze. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she slowed her pace, before suddenly finding herself face to face with Viktor Krum.

He raised his wand menacingly at her.

"What're you doing?" Bianca said, backing away.

He sneered at her and said, "Crucio!"

Bianca screamed and fell to the floor. She'd never felt pain anything like this before. Every cell of her body felt like it was burning and then freezing over and over. Her lungs seemed to be so full of pain that there was no room for her to take in any air and she had no control of her limbs. Bianca screamed and screamed but Krum was ruthless. When he finally stopped, she was left twitching on the ground, covered in mud. Viktor raised his wand again, "Avada-"

"Stupefy!" Bianca recognised Harry's voice and thanked everything she could think of which, in her pain-filled state, wasn't much, that she'd teamed up with Harry.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked her, taking Bianca's arm.

She couldn't find the words to reply but, still shaking, nodded and got to her feet.

"Should we- should we leave him here?" she managed unsteadily.

"No. I reckon we should send up red sparks. Someone'll come and collect him… otherwise he'd probably be eaten by a Skrewt."

Bianca smiled weakly and sent up a jet of sparks. She took Harry's hand for reassurance and could feel him relax at the comfort. Something friendly made them both feel much better. When they faced the Sphynx, a group of Hagrid's huge Skrewts decided to attack them, so while Harry worked through the clue, Bianca battled with the five monsters. She ducked and dodged their fire while also trying to cover for Harry and fight them off.

"Harry!" she said desperately, "Any time now!"

The beasts were closing in and Harry finally said in excitement, "A creature I wouldn't want to kiss… a spider!"

As the Sphynx moved aside, Bianca sent a particularly strong 'impedimenta' hex at the Skrewts which froze two of them and confused the other three, allowing Harry and Bianca to dash away.

A few turns later, and another quick check of Harry's 'point me' spell, and they could see the cup. The took off at a sprint.

"Bianca!" Harry suddenly yelled, "On your left!"

Bianca looked up and, horrified, dodged a humongous spider. In her haste to get away, she tripped over a loose branch and lost her wand. Harry successfully managed to take the monster's attention away from her but now it was just after him. She searched desperately for her wand was the spider hoisted Harry into the air and she heard him cry out in pain. Finally, her hand grasped around her wand and she sent a few well-aimed and powerful spells at the beast. Once it dropped Harry, they both managed to slay the spider. Bianca, ignoring the cup which was just meters to her side, rushed to Harry and looked at his injured leg.

"Take it," Harry told her as she performed every healing spell she knew, "Go on, take it."

Bianca helped him to his feet, "You take it. You should win. You saved me too many times to count in there."

"That's not how it's supposed to work," Harry argued, "Whoever gets there first, wins."

"No, Harry. You know I don't care about winning. You deserve this Harry, take the glory."

"I don't want the attention! I don't need any more people knowing who I am."

"You think I do? Harry you know I've never wanted any of the attention I got this year."

"Both of us," Harry decided.

"What?" Bianca looked at him.

"We'll take it at the same time. It's still a Hogwarts victory. We'll tie for it. We've helped each other throughout this whole thing and we both got here. Let's just take it together."

Bianca smiled, realising they were both too stubborn to back down so she helped him to the cup on his bad leg.

"Promise you'll take it?" Harry asked.

"Promise," Bianca said, "One-"

"Two-" Harry said.

"Three," they said together and they both grasped the handle, only to feel themselves be dragged violently off the ground.

It was a sensation Bianca had experienced only twice before, but she could identify it immediately. The Triwizard Cup was a portkey and neither Bianca or Harry had any idea where it was taking them.

They landed roughly on a hard ground. Bianca helped Harry to his feet and looked around. They had been sent to some sort of graveyard. The dim moonlight sent shadows of gravestones cascading forwards, only darkening the already sinister space. Bianca shivered, hating to think of all the dead bodies she was standing on.

"Did anyone tell you the cup was a portkey?" she asked Harry, already knowing the answer.

"Nope. Is it supposed to be part of the task?"

Bianca took out her wand and warily looked around the graveyard. She was about to suggest they head back to the cup when Harry said, "Someone's coming."

Bianca jerked her head up to peer in the direction Harry was looking in. A strange figure was making its way through the gravestones holding what looked like a baby swaddled in black robes. Next to her, Harry bent double in pain, clutching his head.

Over Harry's cries, Bianca heard a raspy voice coming from the figure, "Kill her!"

Bianca immediately ducked and pulled Harry aside so when the killing curse was fired it flew straight over their heads. They landed on the grass and Bianca lay perfectly still, waiting. She closed her eyes and squeezed Harry's hand, but felt him be pulled up and away from her. When she heard Harry gasp in surprise, "You," she risked opening one eye out of curiosity. She didn't recognise the man, but Harry clearly did. She watched from the floor as the small figure move a cauldron and heat it. She couldn't see Harry without moving her head but didn't want to draw attention to herself so trusted he was ok.

Unfortunately, she couldn't see exactly what the man was doing but heard him perform some sort of ritual, "Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son. Flesh- of the servant- w-willingly given- you will- revive- your master." Bianca almost winced at the horrifying scream that pierced the still night air but forced herself to go limp again as the man continued, "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."

Bianca didn't hear Harry scream which concerned her and she didn't know what the man had done to him or what he was doing now, but she had to know Harry was alright, so slowly adjusted herself so she could see more. She wished immediately that she hadn't. He was strapped somehow to a gravestone, blood seeping down his arm and before him, another, taller, thinner figure had risen from the cauldron, millions of times more petrifying than the servant which scurried around after him. One look at Harry's terrified face told her everything; Lord Voldemort was back, and he was standing right in front of them.

The students locked eyes, nothing but terror in their eyes. She watched, shaking, as Voldemort summoned his followers and addressed them, but she couldn't process what he was saying to them. The most feared wizard in the whole world walked around the circle of Death Eaters. Bianca glared as he replaced the servant he called Wormtail's hand and tortured the people who bowed before him.

"The one who remains my most faithful servant has already re-entered my service," Bianca suddenly paid attention to what was going on, stopping trying to process what had happened before, "He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friends arrived tonight."

Mad-Eye Moody was a Death Eater. That confirmed it. Not that it made any sense whatsoever, but none other than Lord Voldemort had made Bianca's worst fears a reality. Bianca didn't realise that said dark Lord was standing above her until it was too late to shut her eyes and continue to play dead. Instead, she was forced to stare right back into his blood-red eyes with as much bravery as she could.

"This girl," Voldemort said, "Has caused more problems than I'd like to admit. At least seven times, I've tried to have her killed but here she is, still alive. Perhaps," he bent down so he was only centimetres away from her face, "she would like to know why she's been so challenging."

"I don't care about anything you want to tell me," Bianca spat, surprised at how convincing she sounded. But the man only chuckled.

"I think you're lying. You want to know who you are, don't you?"

Bianca forced herself into a sitting position and felt around the ground for her wand, but it was too far away to reach and Voldemort positioned himself in front of it.

"Your mother and father," he started.

"I don't care!" Bianca said again, but the wizard flicked his wand and her lips sealed over so she couldn't talk.

"A master and his most devoted follower. When there's a war raging and you're in the middle of it, who would you turn to except the person most loyal to you?" he said all of this with no emotion, and moved closer to her with every word, "It wasn't meant to end up how it did- with a baby- but then there was nothing for the father left to do. As a powerful leader, think of the shame, the humiliation he'd be put through if anyone were to find out. No one would respect him. No one would fear him. The father of a new-born baby girl is hardly a terrifying image. So, naturally, they both had to die."

Bianca shook her head, not wanting to believe a word of what he was saying.

"But, the mother adored her baby and protected it with her life and when the father went to do what had to be done," he paused and looked at her, "The child was gone. Hidden, nowhere to be found. Here you are now though. Reunited, father and daughter." Bianca shuffled away from him, crying. Why did she believe what this man was telling her? He was nothing but evil, it was probably all a load of lies!

"It wasn't worth the effort, waiting to kill you myself, _daughter_ , but maybe now, after all these failed attempts, it would be satisfying."

He flicked his wand and she could speak again but he continued before she could say anything, "That's right. That family you've been hoping to find since you were a baby, that father you've longed for, is me. You are my blood, my child."

"You're not my father," Bianca snapped, "I don't care how much of your DNA is in me. You will never, ever be anything more than a-"

She was cut off as Voldemort pointed his wand at her again and she fell to the floor in agony.

"Join me," he said, looming over her, "Together we'd be unstoppable- we could be the two most powerful wizards ever to walk this planet. You helped bring Harry to me, now help me kill him and we can take everything."

"I helped Harry because he deserves glory and love. You don't deserve anything but pain and suffering. I would never join you, _father_." She spat the last word with as much venom as she possibly could.

"It's a shame that such a pretty girl had to die so young. But you were one of the few people in this world that could pose a threat, so naturally, I can't have you wandering around freely. I'd hate for you to ruin my grand return. No, I'd best deal with you and Potter tonight, and then nothing will stand in my way."

Voldemort walked away from her and she quickly scrambled for her wand. "Kill her," he said again, "Slowly."

Bianca didn't hear him explain all about his 'miraculous' return from near death to Harry, because she was busy fighting for her life. Somehow she managed to stand and duel at least half of the Death Eaters which were present. With strength she didn't know she possessed, Bianca battled through the spells that hit her, ignoring the large streams of blood and humongous levels of pain. It should have been impossible. She should have been floored within seconds. The curses, hexes, spell and jinxes which were hitting her from every angle should have killed her. It was only after minutes of torture that she was forced to her knees, exhausted and half-dead. The opponents didn't even break a sweat. She glanced at Harry who was now mid-duel with Voldemort himself before her body gave up completely and she was lying crumpled on the ground.

The spells kept coming like rain in a storm. She didn't want to think about the lasting damage this would do to her if she didn't die within the next few seconds.

But then it stopped. The Death Eaters were all distracted by Harry's battle with their master. Bianca tore her eyes away from the spectacle of the link between the enemies' wands and silently began cursing the Death Eaters after casting a protective charm around herself. The shield was weak, but it was all she could muster in her practically lifeless condition. Unfortunately, she only managed to take out a few of her opponents when they realised what was happening and turned on her again.

A few stunning spells and one or two more 'crucio' curses had completely defeated whatever magical energy had kept Bianca alive for the last fifteen minutes. She dropped her wand as everything began fading. She'd forgotten what anything other than pain and near death felt like. Completely convinced that the next spell that hit her, whether it was a killing curse or merely a disarming spell, would end her for good.

A Death Eater raised his wand, sneered at her and opened his mouth. Her eyes fluttered closed, bracing herself for impact.

When she managed to force them open again, Bianca wasn't in the graveyard.

A/N: Dun, dun, duuuunnnn. So now we know why this is called 'child of death'! Hope everyone's enjoying :D


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: Ok so my exams start next Tuesday. Obviously I'll try to keep uploading as per the regular schedule but please understand if I don't. :D

Also seeing as no one complained, I'll continue this as one story through the Order of Phoenix and see how long it's getting after that to decide if it needs splitting.

Chapter 33

Harry shot his wand up into the air, breaking his connection with Voldemort's spell. He ran faster than he ever had before, dodging through the Death Eaters who were momentarily lost in confusion. He sprinted towards Bianca, jumping over headstones and ducking spells until he reached her. There was no time to check if she was still alive.

Voldemort thought he'd done it, he thought he could kill him. But Harry was faster, "Accio!"

The Triwizard cup flew towards his hand and the last thing he heard from the graveyard was the dark wizard's infuriated scream.

He felt himself slam into the ground painfully but wasted no time sitting up and rolling Bianca over.

"Come on, come on." He looked at her broken body- all the blood stained on her robes and the lifeless look on her face. He thought of how limp she'd been in his arms, how dead she'd felt. He didn't know any healing spells, he didn't know what to do. The deafening screams of the crowd were so distracting- why couldn't they help instead of cheering? Couldn't they see something was terribly wrong?

Harry brushed Bianca's hair out of her face, peeling back the bits which had stuck to blood and gently patted her on the cheek. He held his breath, waiting for her to respond.

Finally, her eyelids parted and she looked at him, sadness, fear and pain in her eyes.

"Thank Merlin," he breathed sat back in relief.

Bianca clutched onto Harry, rocking slightly and sobbing desperately.

"My father. He's my father," she kept muttering.

Harry was hysterical, in complete disbelief over what had happened. Dumbledore was demanding to know what had happened from Harry, but the poor boy's answers were hardly coherent so instead, the headmaster moved to Bianca whose vision was blurring and fading again. Harry had dropped her so she was sprawled out on the Quidditch pitch. She couldn't move or speak, or even look at Dumbledore but managed to make out the shape of Mad-Eye Moody, hauling Harry to his feet and saying he'd take the boy to the Hospital Wing.

The headmaster didn't have a chance to speak to her before she raised her finger and pointed. Her arm felt like it had a house strapped to it, it was so hard to move and simply saying a word was easily the most difficult thing she'd ever done but she managed to stutter, "Harry."

Dumbledore turned to see Mad-Eye drag Harry into the castle and immediately understood. Bianca's hand dropped and she closed her eyes again, vaguely aware of someone lifting her up and carrying her away. All she could think about was what she'd been told and what had nearly happened. She hoped desperately that Harry was ok- he'd looked so exhausted and terribly injured when she'd seen him before. What he'd witnessed and been through was infinitely worse than her own experience. He'd had no choice but to unwillingly take part in the resurrection of the monster which had killed his parents after taking part in a tournament he wasn't mentally or magically prepared for. The poor kid had had the worst year of his life so far only to top it off with an evening from hell.

Bianca was completely unaware of what was happening to her for the next few hours. Her brain moved in and out of consciousness but when she was awake, she couldn't feel anything except immense pain. Apparently, she'd been taken hurriedly to Madame Pomfrey, all the way crying about her discovery of her history. It had taken two full doses of calming draughts and a sleeping potion to get her to stop thrashing and risking making her condition worse. Then she'd been completely unresponsive for a while until she suddenly sat up, screaming in pain. Madame Pomfrey had worked tirelessly between her and Harry for hours to make them more stable. Their extensive torture from the evening had caused more damage than anyone liked to admit.

It was several days before Bianca regained enough consciousness to process what was going on or have any control over what she was doing. To begin with, she was numb to most things because Madame Pomfrey had given her so many potions so she couldn't feel any pain, but she felt the huge hugs given to her by all the friends and heard the excessive apologies from Harry, even though she didn't have the energy to respond.

Once she was capable of holding a conversation, and Madame Pomfrey allowed people in to see her, the first person by her side was Harry.

"Bianca, I'm so sorry," he said, "It's all I've been thinking about. I made you take that cup, it's my fault you were at that graveyard. All of those Death Eaters torturing you and I couldn't help and I thought- I thought you were dead, Bianca. After everything you'd helped me through in this stupid tournament, I thought I'd let you down."

"Harry," Bianca said shakily. He had to lean down to hear what she was saying. "This isn't your fault. Neither of us wanted to be in this and you certainly aren't responsible for me getting chosen. We said we'd help each other, right from the start so it was fair for us to take the cup together. If it weren't for you, I'd be lying dead in that graveyard. You saved my life."

"You saved mine," Harry protested, "I wouldn't have even been at the centre of that maze if I'd been by myself. And then I left you to fight for yourself against all those men while I was stuck against that headstone and I didn't do anything. And you were so amazing, fighting them all off for so long. It was so impressive but I didn't help you, I just stood there and-"

"Stop it," Bianca said, "Voldemort's been trying to have me killed all year. No one blames you for what happened that night."

Harry smiled at her, "I suppose if you hadn't been there, any one of those Death Eaters could have killed me when I was busy duelling You-Know-Who. Maybe it is a good thing you were there."

"See, there you go, I'm a blessing after all. What happened anyway, I can't remember much?"

Harry quickly informed her about what had happened in the graveyard and what had happened at school since.

"Everyone was terrified. When I bought you back, we all thought you were dead and then- it's been days and hardly anyone believes that he's really back. The ministry doesn't believe it and-"

"They'll come around," Bianca reassured him.

"Oh, and Mad-Eye Moody- he was behind it all year! He put our names in!"

"I know," Bianca said sadly, "He's the one that attacked me."

"You knew?"

"Yeah," Bianca smiled, "But I couldn't do anything without proof."

"It wasn't really him though," Harry said, "It was Mr Crouch's son. He used Polyjuice Potion. Oh," Harry reached down for something next to her bed and pulled up a huge sack of gold, "Your winnings. We got a thousand each. I think the ministry thought that if they gave us both the full amount instead of splitting it, we'd take their side and pretend Voldemort didn't really return."

"I don't want it," Bianca said, "I'm only seventeen-ish. Maybe sixteen. What am I meant to do with all of that?"

"I don't want it either. It's not like I can use it living with the Dursley's."

"Harry," Bianca said weakly, her brain hurt from trying to keep up with what he was saying, "Where are Fred and George?"

"Madame Pomfrey wouldn't let them in," Harry said, "They've spent all their time here and she said it was bad for them. I'll tell them you're ok, though. Get some more rest."

"Thank you, Harry," Bianca lay back against the pillows and sighed, "Don't beat yourself up, yeah?"

When Bianca woke the next day, she was lying with the twins' arms wrapped around her.

"Someone's tired," Fred teased when he saw she was awake.

"Shhhh," Bianca said drowsily, "S'too early."

"It's two in the afternoon," George laughed.

"Too early," Bianca repeated.

"If you say so," George smiled, "How're you feeling?"

"Can't feel anything," Bea slurred, "On too many drugs."

"Yeah, Harry said you were a bit loopy."

"Why're you in my bed?" Bianca asked them.

"We're looking after you," George informed her.

"But we can leave you all alone if you'd rather."

"Noooooooo," Bianca tightened her grip on Fred and pulled herself closer to him, "Why am I in here?"

"You really have lost it," George said, "Are you sure it's medicine Madame Pomfrey's giving you?"

But Bianca's head had lolled to the side and she'd fallen asleep again.

"I'm offended," Fred whispered, "She stays awake to talk to Harry but not us."

"Harry's more famous than we are. She's got to impress him."

"George," Fred said, "When she got back with Harry and-"

"Don't." George scowled, "I don't want to think about it."

"We've got to look after her now," Fred said.

"We did that before," George pointed out.

"But it's different now. It's more real."

The twins sat in silence for a while, thinking over the events of the past few days. They had been surprised when Madame Pomfrey had let them squish onto the bed with Bianca, but they had figured it made all three of them feel better. Bianca stirred in between them and George rubbed her shoulder gently and Fred kissed her forehead. It took several minutes for her to manage to speak actual English instead of slurring random noises but when she did manage to create an understandable sentence, she murmured, "Everyone's going to hate me now."

George looked at Fred, baffled, "Why would anyone hate you?"

"He's my dad," Bianca said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Who is?"

"Harry didn't tell you?" Bianca sniffled.

"I advised him not to," the soothing voice of Albus Dumbledore sounded next to them. Somehow, the old wizard had silently appeared in a seat next to Bianca's bed without any of them noticing.

"Professor," Fred said, "We didn't see you."

"I realised that," Dumbledore's eyes sparkled mischievously, "I was hoping to speak to Bianca."

"Don't expect an answer in English," Fred said, "I don't think she's quite with it yet."

"I speak multiple languages, Mr Weasley, I'm sure I will be able to make sense of what Bianca tries to tell me."

"I don't think what she was saying was in any known languages, sir," George said, "But feel free to try."

"Perhaps Bianca would like to start off by explaining what she was going to tell you before I so rudely interrupted."

"He's my dad," Bianca repeated.

"Yeah you said that Bea," Fred said kindly, "Who is?"

"You-Know-Who!" Bianca cried, bursting into tears.

"No, we don't," George said, his brow creased.

"I think you misunderstood," Dumbledore said, "What Bianca means is-"

"Voldemort's my father," Bianca said so quietly they barely even heard her.

"She's joking," Fred said.

"That's the meds speaking, right?" George said.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore said, "She's telling the truth."

Fred pulled Bianca into his side while she cried.

"When people find out, they'll think I'm just like him, I'll be arrested or killed or banished or-"

"Maybe I need to speak to Madame Pomfrey about lowering the amount of medication Bianca is on," Dumbledore said, "I can assure you, my dear, that you will not be banished from anywhere."

"Mum won't want me in the house anymore," Bianca sobbed.

"Bea," Fred said, "In the kindest way possible, stop being completely stupid. We all still love you."

"I have a surname now! People are going to think I'm evil! Will I have to change houses? Voldemort wasn't a Gryffindor."

"If I tell her to shut up, will she remember it and be offended?" George wondered, shaking his head.

"Probably not," Fred said.

"Bianca," George said sweetly, "Shut up."

Bianca pouted at him and tried to shove him off the bed but only managed to pat his shoulder gently.

Dumbledore chuckled and said, "If you do not want anyone to know, nobody needs to find out who your father is. I know Harry has not told anyone except myself and Sirius."

"Who's Sirius?" Bianca asked.

"We'll tell you later," George said quickly. The twins had both been in the hospital wing when Sirius Black had revealed himself after the final task and had witnessed the confusing events of the evening.

"I don't want anyone to hate me," Bianca said sadly.

"We can talk about it later," Fred told her, "You probably shouldn't decide now, but at least for a while, nobody needs to know."

Dumbledore stayed for a while longer asking Bianca questions about what she could remember. A lot of the time, she sounded practically drunk, and most answers needed to be repeated several times before they could figure out what she was trying to say. Eventually, they gave up and allowed her to fall asleep again.

"Well, that was," George paused, trying to think of the right word, "Enlightening," he decided.

"She has been through a lot," Dumbledore said, "It must be hard for her to think about."

"Everything's hard for her to think about," Fred laughed, "She's completely off her head."

"Just wait for her to wake up properly," George said, "She'll be sobbing and blubbing all over the place."

Once Professor Dumbledore had left, Fred looked at his twin, "I think I prefer her like this- all loopy. It's quite entertaining."

"Don't lie," George said, "You think it's adorable. You like being able to protect her."

Fred blushed and looked down, "Like you don't."

"Of course I do," George said, "But I don't look at her like she's the most amazing thing on the planet."

"Yeah, you save that for Angie instead."

George blushed as deeply as Fred had. "I don't know if I ever told you, but she was really upset you didn't ask her to the ball."

"I never want to think about that night again. It was a bit of a disaster. You should have been with Ange and I should have been with Bea. But instead-"

"Yeah, I know, Freddie. She knows we care though."

"I just want to wrap her in blankets and hide her away somewhere safe so she doesn't have to deal with any of this."

"Not sure how much she'd appreciate that but I know what you mean. Mum's probably going to do something along those lines when she finds out though. She'll never want her to leave the house again."

"Come on, let's get dinner. We'll bring Lee and everyone over after."

Bianca spent the rest of the school year enduring endless teasing from her friends for her crazy state. Conversations were extremely entertaining while difficult to follow, and when it got to the end of the year, Madame Pomfrey was reluctant to actually let her go on the train with everyone else.

In the end, she and the twins left earlier than the rest of the school to get settled on the train and avoid the crowds. George had carried all of her luggage and Fred supported Bianca. By this point, most of Bianca's sentences were in English and were relevant to the conversation, even if there were a few glitches where she seemed to be speaking gobbledegook.

"Well," Fred sighed, collapsing into one of the seats, "That was definitely the most eventful year we've had at Hogwarts."

"I never want to go to the Hospital wing ever again," Bianca said, "Madame Pomfrey must be sick of me."

"We're definitely sick of visiting you," George said, "It's much more effort than just meeting you in the common room."

"I was in the Hospital more than I was in my dorm this year," Bianca laughed.

"Someone had to keep Madame Pomfrey busy."

"Think how bored she would have been if you weren't in there all year."

"Think of everything I actually would have learnt if I hadn't been in there," Bianca said, "I've barely been in any lessons."

"None of them were particularly interesting," Fred said, "And you caught up with most of it anyway."

When they were joined by Lee, Angelina and Alicia about ten minutes later, they were happily discussing the twins' joke shop.

"Everyone still alive in here?" Lee said, "It's been at least two weeks since one of you nearly died, I figured it's about time something went wrong."

"So, Bianca," Angie said, "What are you going to do with your prize money?"

Bianca smiled. Harry had found her earlier on in the week and told her his idea about what he was going to do with his money. It had been a huge relief to her because she'd had a similar thought to him, but also wanted to give it to Mrs Weasley after everything she'd done for her. When Harry told her he planned on giving it to the twins for their shop, she'd been glad she'd be able to do both.

"I'm going to give it to Mr and Mrs Weasley," Bianca said, catching the look that Fred and George shared but ignoring it, "They've done so much for me and raising an extra child definitely isn't cheap, so I thought they'd find a good use for it. I definitely don't need it."

"That's so sweet," Alicia said and then started a discussion with Lee and Angelina about how they'd spend so much money.

"Bea," Fred said quietly, "Why did you call them that? You said Mr and Mrs Weasley instead of mum and dad."

"Well, now we know who my real father is, I didn't think they'd really want to be my parents."

"No offence but when did you become so stupid?" George said, "You might not be actually related to us, but mum and dad love you just as much as they love everyone else. Probably more than me and Fred seeing as we're the disappointments."

Bianca glared at him, "You're not disap-"

"Whatever," Fred interrupted, "They still raised you for sixteen years. They're not going to decide they don't love you just because you're the daughter of-" he stopped himself, remembering who else was in the carriage.

"Besides," George said quickly, "Mum would literally kill you if you ever called her anything except mum. She's this far away from getting Harry to do it and she's barely met him. You'd be dead in two seconds if you called her 'Mrs Weasley'."

"That would save someone else a job," Bianca said miserably but quietly enough that neither of the boys heard her. "I'm going to see Harry," she said slightly louder, "Try and make him stop beating himself up about what happened."

That was a lie, but she needed an excuse to get the twins with Harry. She watched happily as he presented them with his prize money from the tournament.

"Take it," Harry told them, "I don't want it."

"You're mental."

"If you don't take it, I'm throwing it down the drain. I don't want it and I don't need it. But I could do with a few laughs. We could all do with a few laughs. Bianca and I talked about it. We both agreed. You get my money and your family gets hers."

"You knew about this?" The twins turned on her.

"Yeah," Bianca smiled, "We talked about it before. We figured that you've both been so good to me and Harry ever since you've known us and you've had your hearts set on that joke shop for years. You're going to cheer up a lot of people and that's important. You deserve it."

"I think she's still mad on all those healing potions," George said.

"If Harry didn't give you his I would have," Bianca said, ignoring him.

"Just don't tell your mum where you got it," Harry said.

"Harry," Fred tried to protest again.

"Take it or I'll hex you," Harry said and then followed Ron off the train.

Bianca had barely stepped onto the platform when Mrs Weasley had wrapped her in a hug.

"Come on," she said, not letting go of Bea, "Let's get you back home. Madame Pomfrey sent me an owl with everything we need to do. You'll be just fine."

"I'm already much better," Bianca said, "There's no need to fuss."

"She's our mum," Fred said from next to her, "It's her job to fuss."

Bill, who was still staying with them after the third task, took her arm and guided her to the barrier while Fred and George thanked Harry again. Bianca was extremely glad to be going back home to the Burrow after such a long, hard year.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

As soon as the family had arrived back at the Burrow, Mrs Weasley took Bianca by the arm, "Can you manage the stairs, dear?"

"She's not disabled, mum," George said, "She can walk."

"Oh but look at her," Mrs Weasley cooed, "She's exhausted, and still so pale and thin!"

"I'm right here!" Bianca said.

"Don't worry, Bea," Fred said, "I don't think you're incapable of everything."

"I'll go and make some drinks then," Mrs Weasley said, "Why don't you boys help Bianca into the living room."

"I know where the sofa is," Bianca said, "I can go by myself." To try and prove her point, she let go of Mrs Weasley and headed unsteadily towards the living room only to stumble and have to grab onto the table so she didn't fall, "On second thoughts-"

George walked over and picked her up before stepping in front of the sofa and throwing her onto it unceremoniously.

"George, be gentle!" Mrs Weasley shouted. When she came back with hot drinks for everyone Bianca asked what time Mr Weasley would be back from work.

"He said he wouldn't be too late today," Mrs Weasley said, handing Ginny a steaming mug of tea, "Why?"

"I just need to tell you something," Bianca said, "It's quite important."

Mrs Weasley looked concerned and then looked up at the clock, "He shouldn't be too long, he said he wanted to be back early to see everyone. It's been all year, after all."

They all chatted happily to pass time until Mr Weasley got home. The kids told Mrs Weasley and Bill all about everything that had happened and they weren't already aware of. When Mr Weasley did finally appear in the fireplace, he was immediately swarmed by five children.

"Be careful!" Mrs Weasley called and her husband laughed and hugged them all.

"I thought it'd be faster if I took the Floo back," he said.

Once he'd got settled, Mrs Weasley asked Bianca what she'd wanted to tell them all. Fred and George tensed slightly and sat up a bit straighter.

"When Harry and I were in the graveyard," Bianca started, voice shaking slightly, "And after You-Know-Who had been resurrected, I found something out."

Fred scooted closer to her and took hold of her hand.

"Erm, I know who my parents are, or at least, who my father is," she said awkwardly.

George wrapped an arm around her as Ron said rudely, "Well go on, who is it?"

"Shut up, Ron," Fred said sharply, "This isn't easy for her."

"Come on dear," Mrs Weasley coaxed her gently, "You can tell us."

"It's him. Lord Voldemort. You-Know-Who. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. The Dark Lord. Whatever you want to call him. Voldemort's my father."

Mrs Weasley looked at the twins, searching for some sign that it was a prank but they were both completely stone-faced and serious. Bill stood up and put a hand on his mum's shoulder to comfort her as tears formed in her eyes. Ron and Ginny looked shocked. Mr Weasley sunk lower into his chair and Bianca continued to tell them everything she'd been told in the graveyard.

"So that's why- all year- because-" Mrs Weasley stuttered.

"How many people know?" Mr Weasley asked.

"Just us, Harry and Dumbledore," Bianca said.

"And Sirius," George added.

Bianca looked up at him. She'd completely forgotten about her conversation with the headmaster and the twins in the infirmary so had no clue what he was talking about.

"I expect Dumbledore's probably told some of the teachers too," Fred said, "But Bea doesn't want everyone knowing. It can be kept in the family."

"Oh, Bianca," Mrs Weasley got to her feet and gave her a hug. Bianca had silent tears streaming endlessly down her face and Mrs Weasley was loudly wailing about how she didn't deserve it. Bill and Mr Weasley having some sort of mental conversation with each other and Ron got up and left, looking slightly disgusted. When Mrs Weasley finally pulled herself together, she sent Bianca up to bed with the twins and rushed off to make dinner.

For a few days, Bianca wasn't allowed to leave her bed except to use the bathroom. Mrs Weasley came up every few hours to check on her and give her some healing potions to clear up the last of her ailments. Rather annoyingly for Bea, all of these medicines seemed to make her even more drowsy but she tried to go about life as she normally would. That was until one morning she woke to find herself completely encased in a strange, bumpy material.

She attempted to roll over to look at who was obviously responsible, "What's this?" She asked Fred.

"Bubble-wrap," he replied, "It's a muggle thing, dad loves it."

"It's meant to stop things from breaking or being damaged," George explained happily, "Look, I'll show you." He pushed her so that she rolled off her bed and landed face down on the floor with a thump.

"Did you feel that?" George asked.

"Obviously," Bianca sighed in exasperation.

"Oh," Fred seemed confused, "But did it hurt?"

"No," Bianca said, "Can someone help me up?"

George stepped forward and lifted her back onto the bed. Seeing as she was completely cocooned in bubble-wrap, she couldn't move her arms or legs at all. "We haven't shown you the best part yet," Fred said, sitting next to her on the bed, "Watch this."

He reached out and pressed down on one of the little bumps on her leg so that it burst with a satisfying pop sound. Fred grinned and popped another one, "Isn't that great?" he said excitedly.

"Terrific," Bianca said, "Why am I wrapped in it?"

"Protection," George said, "Look, we've covered all your clothes in it too." He opened her wardrobe to reveal all of Bianca's clothing, completely draped in this new material.

"Even your socks," Fred took some underwear out of her drawer and threw it at her. Of course, that too had been wrapped.

"I can't move," Bianca said.

"That's the point," George said, "You're completely safe here and no more harm can come to you."

"See, we got a little bit sick of seeing you half-dead," Fred continued, still throwing random pieces of clothing at her, "We didn't really like worrying all the time, it's not really our thing."

"And because we're so considerate and caring, when we heard dad talking about this bubble-wrap stuff, we thought it was perfect."

Bianca glared at them and was about to retaliate when Mrs Weasley opened the door and came in, holding several potion bottles.

"What in Merlin's name is all this?" she demanded, "Why are you covered in underwear and- and- what is that?"

"Bubble-wrap, mum," George said, "Remember that stuff dad was talking about?"

"You're meant to be looking after her!" Mrs Weasley said sternly, charming the clothes so that they flew back to their drawers and the bubble-wrap so it all vanished. She then sat next to Bianca and started giving her the potions, "Here's one for the pain, and one to get your strength back. One to build your magic back up, and this one's for-" she seemed to go on for hours, constantly pouring strangely coloured liquids down Bianca's throat. As annoying as it was, Bianca was sadly used to this. It happened at least twice a day, sometimes three or even four. When her head was spinning, she'd had a sip of water and Mrs Weasley had left to make breakfast, Bianca threw her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet.

"I'm sick of this," she said, "I want to do everything normally again and not have a potion shoved down my throat every five seconds that just makes me feel worse."

"They're helping you get better, Bea," George told her.

"Well it's annoying. I want to help you two with your products. I want to go out and play Quidditch and not be stuck in here all day!"

George looked at her, "Come on then, let's go help mum make breakfast."

Bianca beamed and headed over to the door. She stopped at the top of the stairs, studying them and trying to find the best way down without falling.

"They aren't like the stairs at Hogwarts," Fred said, "They're not going to move."

Bianca glared at him and walked down the stairs, feeling rather proud when she got to the bottom without even stumbling. Fred and George pushed passed her with a wink and said loudly, "Mum, is there anything that needs doing?"

Mrs Weasley turned to look at them, "Oh, thank you boys, Fred, could you get some plates out and George, if you could grab some cutlery. Bianca, would you like to-" she stopped herself, looking at Bianca, "What are you doing?"

"I'm helping get breakfast ready," Bianca said, "I'll pour some juice, shall I?"

"But you-you're-"

"Very much capable of picking up a carton of orange juice and pouring it into some glasses."

Mrs Weasley pursed her lips but didn't complain, turning back to the food which was cooking on the stove.

"How many plates, mum?" Fred asked, his head in the cupboard.

Mrs Weasley paused to count in her head, "Well Percy and your dad are at work, so eight."

"Eight? Ginny, Ron, me and George. Bianca, Bill and you. That's seven," Fred counted out the plates.

"You're not forgetting about me, are you?"

Bianca and the twins spun around quickly to see Charlie standing in the doorway. They all squealed and ran towards him, colliding roughly.

"Mum sent me a letter," Charlie said with a laugh, "Told me what had happened and I thought I had to come back and see everyone."

Fred and George returned to whatever jobs they had previously been doing but Bianca kept her arms wrapped around his waist, beaming. He looked down at her, "I knew I shouldn't have left you with Fred and George. They can't do anything right, can they?"

"I did ask you to take me to Romania with you," Bianca said jokingly, "Think of all the trouble you could've got me out of."

"Oh so it's my fault, is it?"

"Naturally," Bianca giggled.

Bianca was delighted that Bill and Charlie were both back to visit at the same time. She'd found herself once again unable to open up or speak in front of certain people, so had been much more subdued at home. It was nice to have more people she could speak to. She knew that at the ministry were calling her, Harry and Dumbledore liars and claiming that they were all insane, and she also knew from Percy and her dad that a lot of people believed the reports so she didn't know who she could trust. Ron's sour face had stuck from when she'd shared the news of who her father was had stuck in her mind and she hadn't failed to notice how he avoided her. The way Percy supported the ministry and his work disturbed her and she had doubts about him 'accidentally' telling someone that he lived with the daughter of Lord Voldemort.

Once everyone had gathered for breakfast, Charlie turned to Bianca again, "I've heard that a congratulations is in order. Did you, or did you not win a certain tournament this year?"

Bianca's eyes widened, suddenly remembering her prize money and bolted up the stairs to retrieve it from under her bed, ignoring the dizziness from moving so quickly. She returned to the kitchen a lot slower than she'd left it and placed the bag on the table in front of Mrs Weasley.

Mrs Weasley smiled at her, "I know, dear, you'll have to think about what you're going to do with it all."

Bianca looked at Fred and George, signalling for them to explain.

"Mum, she's giving it to you," George said, "She doesn't want it."

When Mrs Weasley tried to protest, Fred interrupted, "Don't bother trying to convince her otherwise. She'd had her mind made up since the end of the tournament. She says that you've done so much for her that you deserve it more than she does and you should consider it a thank you from her."

"We tried to tell her to keep it," George said, "And that she didn't need to say thank you, but she wasn't having any of it."

"Bianca, dear, we couldn't take this from you. You completed the tournament, you worked hard for it. You won it! It's yours."

"She didn't want to compete, mum," George said, "And she definitely didn't aim to win. Just take it. She really doesn't want it."

"Although," Fred said thoughtfully, "You could put some of it towards buying more bubble-wrap, if you care about her that much. It really was a good way of keeping her safe."

Bianca sighed and hit her head off the table.

"See!" George said, "She needs a helmet of the stuff. That could have caused brain damage!"

Bea looked up at Charlie helplessly and he turned to the twins, "Stop being stupid. If you two care that much, maybe your next line of products for that shop of yours should be bubble-wrap based."

"Don't encourage them!" Mrs Weasley said, moving the bag of galleons off the table and giving Bianca a hug. "They've been bad enough already this summer, what with apparating every few feet and making all sorts of weird noises and smells."

"They're boys," Charlie said, "They've been making weird noises and smells since they were born."

"You realise you just insulted yourself, right?" Ginny asked, pointing a fork at him.

"Except I stopped doing those things when I was about six," Charlie said wafting his hand in front of his nose, "Those two didn't stop."

"Charlie, behave," Mrs Weasley said, "You know that's not what I meant."

"I think in honour of you, we're going to make special bubble-wrap except when you pop one of the bubbles, it explodes in a fun colour and releases a weird smell," Fred said, "Thanks, Charlie."

"You'll do no such thing!" Mrs Weasley said, "No more experimenting or blowing things up in this house! I don't want any more injuries."

The Weasleys spent most of the day outside playing Quidditch with Bill and Charlie. Mrs Weasley had tried to stop Bianca from flying but was rounded on by all the family.

"Fine!" she said, "But I won't be helping if she falls off her broom."

"Honestly, she thinks I'm completely incapable of everything!" Bianca sighed as they walked up to the paddock.

"She wouldn't care if it was any of us," Charlie told her, "You're just special."

That evening when Mr Weasley and Percy returned from work, Percy looked exceptionally proud of himself.

"I've been promoted," he said happily, "I'm now junior assistant to the minister for magic himself!"

Mr Weasley came in the door after him, looking substantially less pleased then Percy.

"Congratulations Percy," Charlie said stiffly.

"Oh. Hello Charlie," Percy said, "Lovely to see you."

"Well done, Percy," Mrs Weasley said, "I'm very proud."

"Molly," Mr Weasley said, "Don't you think it's a little bit… odd?"

Percy turned to look at him sharply, "What do you mean?"

"It's just, the ministry is very anti-Harry at the moment, and the minister knows how close we are as a family to Harry."

"He also knows I don't take part in any of that rubbish. I'm professional and loyal to the ministry."

"It's not rubbish," Mr Weasley said, "You have a witness right in front of you!" he pointed and Bianca who was staring at Percy.

"You believe her! She's full of lies, they both are. Of course You-Know-Who isn't back, it's ridiculous!"

"Bianca saw it," Fred said angrily, "Why would she lie?"

"She's friends with Potter. She's probably part of his elaborate plan for attention. I bet he somehow found out who Bianca is and threatened to expose her so she'd cooperate. There's no way on Earth he's come back."

"Percy," Mr Weasley said slowly, "Why would Harry make up such a thing? Why would he rally everyone for a war that's not going to happen?"

"You just can't accept that I'm the only one in this house with any sense. You all trust her!" he pointed at Bianca, "She's not even family! And you all believe her over the ministry! I can't believe you've all fallen for her absurd lies!"

"Percy-"

"Do you know how hard you've made things for me?" Percy demanded, "Fighting against your lousy reputation for all these years at work. And now I've finally made it right to the top and not one of you is happy for me! I'm the most successful person here! If you actually put any effort into your work, father, you'd see sense and realise that there is absolutely no way that he could have returned. It's all ludicrous."

"Harry and Bianca were there," Mr Weasley, "They both saw him. And Dumbledore-"

"Dumbledore is an old man! He would believe anything Harry told him. His word means nothing! You're all being completely preposterous!"

"Fudge wants you in that position in his office so he can keep an eye on us," Mr Weasley said, "He's a coward for not believing what's so clearly in front of him. And the rest of the ministry is hiding behind him."

"There is no evidence!"

"Bianca-"

"Is lying!" Percy said. He and Mr Weasley were standing face to face, shouting at each other. Everyone else was sitting watching in shock, "I'm shocked you're all stupid enough to believe her! What has she ever done to deserve our trust? She's a stupid little girl that's just playing along with famous Harry Potter for the attention. He has all of you wrapped around his finger. Ever since he's started school he's been causing trouble. All anyone's talked about. But this is taking it too far. Just you wait and see!"

"Go and hide in the ministry, Percy," Bill stood up, "And don't be surprised when we're facing a war just because the minister is too scared to take the necessary actions."

Mrs Weasley looked close to tears, holding a napkin to her face and shaking slightly.

"The minister is doing the correct thing for the wizarding community."

"He'll get us all killed if he doesn't open his eyes and face the truth! We've been warned, all of us. Harry's told us, Bianca's told us and Dumbledore's told us. There are signs, Percy, we all know what's coming."

"Nothing is coming. This isn't a game! Harry's playing with you! I've had enough! I'm leaving and I'll come back when you all realise that she," he glared at Bianca, "And Harry are corrupting you. You-Know-Who is not back!"

"Say his name," Bianca said quietly, surprising even herself.

"What?" Percy demanded angrily.

"Say it. If he's not back, there's nothing to fear by saying his name. Lord Voldemort, go on. You know it's true, just face it. You know he's back, you're just too scared to admit it, the whole ministry is."

"You're insane," Percy spat, "Sometimes I struggle to believe I'm actually related to you all. You love her and Potter more than your own son. You're all cowards."

And with that, he was gone. Mrs Weasley immediately dissolved into tears. Mr Weasley stared after his son angrily. Bill and Charlie got up and followed Percy to try and talk sense into him. Fred, George and Ginny were all on their feet, fists clenched and Ron had sunk so far into the sofa, it was like he was trying to make it eat him.

"What a git," Fred growled, sitting back down on the sofa, "He's got no right!"

"I can't believe he'd say those things," Mrs Weasley said, "He's always been so- so-" she burst out crying again and gripped onto the back of the nearest armchair for support.

"Sit down, Molly," Mr Weasley said kindly, "I'll go make some tea, shall I?"

When Bill and Charlie returned after having no luck convincing Percy to come back and talk things out, Fred and George both climbed the stairs. Bianca knew they must be angry because they didn't even apparate which was their new favourite trick. Ron and Ginny followed them glumly a few minutes later. Bianca, Bill and Charlie tidied up the kitchen while Mr Weasley took Mrs Weasley to bed.

They decided to do it by hand because they found it more therapeutic so Bill washed the dishes then passed them to Bianca for drying before Charlie put them away. Bea also preferred this method because it took longer so gave Fred and George more time to calm down. She hated it when they were angry so always gave them some time to cool off before she went to console them. Knowing everything Percy had said about her and Harry, she knew they'd be particularly irritated, so purposefully wanted to spend as much time downstairs with Bill and Charlie first.

Thankfully, when Bianca did head upstairs for bed, leaving her older brothers on the sofas chatting, both the twins were asleep so she changed quietly and clambered into bed silently.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Unfortunately, neither Bill nor Charlie could stay very long after Percy's dramatic exit. Bill had mainly come over to watch the tournament and he'd already stayed much longer than planned helping with an organisation called the Order of Phoenix. Charlie had just come over for a quick visit to see how everyone was and what he could do to help, so it felt like the family had barely seen the two oldest boys before they were leaving again.

As if that wasn't saddening enough, the front page of the Daily Prophet the day after Percy had left had a huge picture of Bianca on it and an article all about her and her 'father'. The picture was from the photoshoot before the Triwizard Tournament and showed her nervously smiling at the camera. Mrs Weasley hadn't wanted her to read the article, but Bill had told her it was about she was using her evil descent to avenge her father and her allegiance with Harry Potter to try and convince everyone that Voldemort had returned was secretly the beginning of some wicked plot. Then it had said how she was a liar and a traitor who was unstable after the events of the tournament and couldn't be trusted. It essentially said all the bad things that they'd previously said about Harry.

Fred and George were absolutely furious, storming around the house, complaining about the ministry and Percy and anyone else they could think to blame. Bill had ripped off the front page and thrown it away, but most of the paper had odd snide comments. It was only when there were still horrible articles being printed a few days later that the family decided to stop reading the paper altogether.

They were all shocked that Percy had started these rumours and even though Mrs Weasley hadn't wanted to believe it, there was no one else it could have been.

One evening after Bill and Charlie had left the Burrow to return to work, Mr Weasley came home late, followed by Remus Lupin.

"We have to move," he said solemnly over dinner, "Dumbledore has organised headquarters for the order and it'll be better if we all go there for a while. At least until school starts for you all in September."

"Why?" Ron asked, "We're safe here, aren't we?"

"Of course we are, dear," Mrs Weasley said, "But there's a lot that needs to be sorted out now that…" she trailed off.

"It's better if the order is all together," Lupin explained, "Especially when there are so few of us who actually believe in what's going on. Dumbledore wants everything organised."

After dinner, everyone went up to their rooms to hastily pack some bags. When Fred opened the door to his, George and Bianca's room he gasped and Bea, unable to contain her giggles any longer, burst out laughing. All of the twins' possessions, from their beds to their clothes, were bright pink and covered in white floral designs.

"What have you done?" George asked in shock.

"You were being too serious," Bianca said through her laughter, "I thought you needed loosening up. And what better way is there to cheer up the kings of pranks than by pranking them?"

Fred picked up a pair of trousers, "I quite like it," he said thoughtfully, "Everything matches."

"We'll be completely coordinated," George agreed, moving his duvet, just to find his sheets and pillows also pink, "Maybe we should ask mum to knit us jumpers this colour and pattern for Christmas."

"There's no need," Bianca opened the wardrobe and tossed them both their jumpers from last Christmas, "I didn't miss anything."

Fred held up his jumper. The once red wool was the same hot pink as everything else and the large 'F' on the front had purple butterflies all over it.

"I wonder which set of pyjamas I should pack," George said, "This pink pair with the white flowers, or this pair that has white flowers on a pink background? What do you think Fred?"

"Ooh, tough choice," Fred said, putting a hand to his chin, "Why don't you mix and match? Take the top from one pair and the bottoms from the other. Then you can have both."

"But won't they clash?" George asked, "I'd hate to have unmatching pyjamas."

"They're for sleeping in, it's hardly a fashion show," Fred laughed.

George turned to Bianca, "White and pink or pink and white?" he asked.

"Just put a pair in," Bianca said, "There are more important things to worry about."

"Like what?"

"Which tops you'll bring," Bianca said, throwing a pile of shirts at him all of which, naturally, had all been decorated too, "Make sure they go with your trousers."

"Oh no," George said, "I'm going to be here forever. Think of all the different outfits I could make. This top with these jeans, this jumper with these trousers." He held up several different combinations, all of which looked exactly the same.

Bianca laughed, collecting her own things from around the room. She'd left all of her own possessions untouched and only charmed anything that belonged to the twins.

"We'll get you back for this by the way," Fred said, shoving multiple pairs of identical socks into his bag, "Now we're done moping about Percy."

"I thought you liked it!"

"King of pranks, remember," George said, finally deciding on his very varied outfit choices, "As beautiful as everything is, we can't have you getting away with this."

"Just don't do anything potentially dangerous," Bianca said, "Mum would kill you."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Fred said, "You even did our school robes?" he exclaimed, holding up a tie and Hogwarts robes.

"Of course!" Bianca burst out laughing again.

"You're buying us new ones," Fred decided angrily.

"Am not," Bianca said, "They're your robes. Besides I can change them back… probably."

When the three dragged their cases down the stairs half an hour later, everyone else was already waiting for them.

"What took you so long?" Mrs Weasley demanded.

"We had to make sure we had everything," George said innocently.

"If you've got stupid Wizard Wheezes products or whatever they're called, then-"

"Not now, Molly," Arthur said, "It's late, we need to get going."

Their mother glared at them while Lupin said, "We'll be taking the Floo network. The address is number 12, Grimmauld place."

Number 12 Grimmauld place was not particularly luxurious as the family found out relatively quickly. They appeared in a dusty, dark kitchen and were greeted by four adults.

The first person Bianca saw sent shivers up her spine, even though she knew there was nothing really to fear. The real Mad-Eye Moody stood next to the fireplace and was roughly pushing everyone out of the way so they could all fit into the kitchen. He passed the bags to a young woman Bianca didn't recognise but who had fabulous pink hair. Once all of the Weasleys were squished into the kitchen, the other people started introducing themselves.

"This is Nymphadora," Mad-Eye said, indicating to the woman with the colourful hair.

"It's Tonks," she said angrily, but then turned and smiled at everyone.

A tall man stepped forward and shook everyone's' hand, "Kingsley Shacklebolt," he said, "Nice to meet you all.

"Kingsley works at the ministry with me," Mr Weasley said, "He-"

"Sirius?" Ron interrupted, spotting the final stranger in the corner of the room.

"Hello, Ron," the man smiled.

Bianca looked at George. She assumed this was the man the twins had told her about. Sirius Black, Harry Potter's godfather and, up until recently, the only other person who knew who her father was.

"Lovely to see you all again," Sirius said, "And nice to meet you properly," he said to Bianca with a cheeky smile. The twins sniggered and she looked up at them, brow creased in confusion.

"We didn't tell her," Fred chuckled.

"Tell me what?" Bianca demanded.

"Not here," George said, "You'll get embarrassed. We'll tell you later."

"You'd better," she said, glaring.

"Come on," Lupin said, ushering everyone out the room, "Let's get everyone settled into their rooms, it's a bit crowded in here."

In the twins' and Bianca's room, there was a double bed and a single bed which had been moved in for their sake. The boys immediately flopped onto the king-sized bed, smiling as it bounced slightly underneath them, leaving Bianca to sit on the single.

"Tell me," Bianca said, as soon as they'd got sorted.

"It's a bit dusty in here," Fred observed, ignoring Bianca to irritate her.

"Could definitely do with a clean," George agreed.

Bianca got up and gathered some dust up from the window ledge before going over to the twins and blowing it in their faces to bring on a huge sneezing fit.

"That wasn't f-fair!" Fred said before sneezing loudly.

"Tell me what happened!" Bianca wined.

George sniffled and said, "Fine. After the final task, we were all in the hospital wing with you and Harry."

Bianca sighed. She's been told and teased multiple times for her loopy state after the tournament but couldn't remember any of it.

"As you know, Sirius was there with Harry," Fred continued, "And he's an animagus. So you saw him turn into a human from a dog and got all excited, screaming about puppies and whatever and Sirius thought it was hilarious so once Harry had gone to sleep he turned back into a dog and went over to you."

"You were obsessed," George sniggered, "Kept trying to stroke him and pet him. I think at one point you asked if anyone had any treats for him because he was 'such a good little doggy'. Well, I think that's what you said, it was quite difficult to translate your drunken-like slurs."

Bianca groaned and put her face in her hands; she was beginning to wish she hadn't asked.

"Anyway, Sirius got bored and turned back to his human form but then you recognised him from all the wanted posters and panicked," Fred continued, "So, like any sane person would do when they're faced with an alleged mass-murderer, you threw your pillow at him and tried to ward him off with a chocolate frog."

"A very dangerous weapon, might I add," George said with a grin.

"So then when Sirius went back to sit with Harry, you calmed down and went to lie down again but forgot your pillow wasn't there, whacked your head off the wall and knocked yourself out," Fred finished.

"A great first impression," George concluded, now rolling around on the bed because he was laughing so hard.

"Please tell me you're lying," Bianca said, looking at them between her fingers, "This is your way of getting me back for the pink bedroom, right?"

"I'm afraid not." The door opened and none other than Sirius Black himself was standing there smiling, "It was quite the introduction."

"I'm so sorry," Bianca said, blushing a very deep red.

"It's fine, I wasn't particularly injured by your pillow missile," Sirius chuckled, "I think you did yourself more damage. That wall was pretty solid and you hit your head pretty hard."

"That was impeccable timing," Fred said.

"Your mother sent me up to tell you that you're all having one last hot drink before bed. She wants you in the kitchen," Sirius said, still smirking at Bianca's embarrassment, "Maybe if you get down there fast enough, you'll get a treat for being good."

Fred and George started laughing again and followed Sirius down to the kitchen.

"Be quiet when you pass this," Sirius warned them, pointing to a huge pair of worn curtains, "We don't want my mother waking up."

The three shared a confused look and tip-toed past the curtains into the kitchen where Mrs Weasley was handing out hot chocolates to everyone. Tonks was morphing her face into different shapes to entertain Ginny. "She's a metamorphagus," Sirius said to Bianca, "I'm sure she could do a dog if you asked."

"Will you ever-"

"No," Fred, George and Sirius all said at the same time, "Absolutely not."

Bianca sighed and purposefully sat as far away from them all as she possibly could to have her drink.

"Boys," Mrs Weasley scolded, "Don't be mean."

"You don't even know what happened, mum!" Fred said, "We were just teasing. It was very much deserved and not at all mean. Bea knows we're kidding, right?"

"I can't even remember doing it!" Bianca said, "I didn't mean it."

"Personally, I don't blame you," Sirius said, "I'm just irresistible."

"Sirius," Lupin said, "Leave the poor girl alone. She'd had a rough night."

"So had Harry but he wasn't petting me or throwing bedding at me."

"Maybe because he was unconscious and incapable of doing those things," Bianca retaliated.

"Have your drinks and go to bed quickly," Mrs Weasley said, "Hermione's coming tomorrow, Ron sent her an owl earlier on. There's lots we need to do."

"Hermione's not that special," George said, "We don't need to tidy everything just for her."

That just earned him a sharp slap across the back of the head, "We all have to live here for several weeks, it'll be nicer if it's not full of dust."

By the time everyone had finished their hot chocolates, it was after midnight and they were all exhausted. Mrs Weasley sent them all upstairs, leaving Mr Weasley in deep discussion with Sirius, Lupin, Kingsley, Mad-Eye and Tonks.

"Quietly now, up you all go. Sleep well."

"Fred!" George exclaimed loudly when they got into their room.

Fred looked at him, panicked, "What's wrong?" he asked, "What happened?"

"Which pyjamas do I wear?"

Fred sighed, "You're sleeping on the floor for that," he said seriously, "You scared me."

He then proceeded to lie on the bed, spread out like a starfish so there was no space for George. One he too had his pink pyjamas on, George looked at Fred and then jumped up and landed so he was directly on top of his twin. Much to Bianca's surprise, they were both fast asleep a few seconds later, lying on top of each other, limbs tangled together. She shook her head and lay back on her own bed.

Bianca lay awake for hours, unnerved by the creepy house they were staying in. She'd tried to ignore the house elf heads and years of mould and creaky stairs, but the entire house was so horrible, it was difficult to feel safe, especially when she still had the horrible newspaper articles and the family row with Percy in her mind.

It was nearly sunrise by the time she finally fell asleep, but unfortunately for her, when you share a room with the Weasley twins, there's no such thing as a lie in. When Fred and George woke up the next morning and untangled themselves, they were faced with the difficult decision of choosing what outfit to wear.

"I can't wait for mum to see these," Fred said, looking at his pink jumper, trousers, underwear and socks.

"She'll probably think they're some prank or something," George said.

"Technically it was," Fred said, looking over at where Bianca was still asleep, covers pulled up high so it looked like she was hiding in them. "You know," Fred continued mischievously, "Mum would kill us if we woke her up- she's still 'recovering', after all."

"But she said herself she's sick of being treated like she might break at any moment," George smiled, "It's only fair that we treat her like we normally would, especially seeing as we have to wear this." He indicated to their floral clothing.

Sharing a look, the twins got to their feet and walked across the room only to be stopped by the door opening and a small house elf entering. He walked around the room, completely ignoring Fred and George's presence, mumbling, 'Blood traitors everywhere you turn. If only mistress could see the state of her beautiful house.'

"Good morning!" Fred said cheerfully, "Can we help you?"

The house elf looked up at them, "Here are the identical freaks, strutting around as if they own the place."

George looked at Fred, "Does he know we can hear him?"

Next to them, Bianca groaned and rolled over, stirred by the commotion. She looked at the house elf, "Who's that?"

"Don't know," Fred said, "Nice hair."

Bianca scowled and moved her hands up to her hair. The bun she'd thrown it into last night had come undone and was mimicking a bird's nest on her head.

"What have you got living in there?" George laughed, "How many families of birds?"

"Shut up," Bianca said, finally noticing their matching outfits, "Liked the pattern that much, eh?"

"Don't know how to turn them back to normal," Fred shrugged, "I think pink suits us anyway."

"Don't lie to yourself," Bianca got up and started getting dressed, "It clashes horribly with your hair."

"It's a statement," George argued, "Everyone will be doing it soon. But right now, I want breakfast."

Fred and George looked at each other, smirked and disapparated. Bianca shook her head and moved around the house elf who was still mumbling to himself, before heading down to the kitchen. The twins were standing in the doorway, giggling to themselves and hiding from view.

"What took you so long?" Fred asked her cheekily.

She ignored them and pushed past them into the kitchen, asking Mrs Weasley of she needed any help cooking breakfast and sitting at the table next to Ginny who was talking to Tonks. Sirius and Lupin were having a hushed conversation a little way down the table with Mr Weasley, but all talk stopped when Fred and George entered.

"What are you wearing?" Ginny asked in horror.

"Whatever do you mean, dear sister?" George said innocently.

"Your jumper," Ginny said, "It's pink."

"You noticed?" Fred said sarcastically.

"And so are your trousers!"

"You really are observant, aren't you, Gin?" George said.

"What happened to your clothes?" Mrs Weasley demanded, turning away from cooking breakfast to look at the twins. She stormed over to Fred and studied his shirt, "George, what's going on?"

"I'm Fred, mother," Fred said angrily, "And it's just a little joke."

That was the wrong choice of words, "Is this something for your shop?" Mrs Weasley demanded, "Is it going to explode or squirt water at us?"

"No mum, it was just Bianca messing around. She can fix it, we just fancied being colourful today."

As it turned out, today became several weeks. Bianca turned one piece of clothing a day back to its original state, starting with things like a sock, that no one really saw and waiting until the final few days of August to fix their school robes. Over this time, the three continued to work on products for their shop. They'd started with Extendable Ears because they were so curious about the order meetings and then worked on their Skiving Snackboxes which were a combination of all their sweets that make you ill. They all tried each of their products but wanted to check for effects on other people. Obviously, when they were living in the same house as their mother, they couldn't really do that. The three had already had to change their testing system when Mrs Weasley had come investigating after hearing several thuds of them falling over after trying Fainting Fancies.

Overall, Bianca, Fred and George had a very productive summer. There were lots of places to hide their products in the old house where their mother wouldn't find them, and the size of the house meant that it was easy for them to disappear for a few hours to work without anyone noticing. In fact, they'd made so much progress, it took several shrinking charms to allow space for everything in their cases and they were reluctant to leave their room on the first of September.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Fred and George Weasley hated Dolores Umbridge. She'd already tried to confiscate all of their products three times and they were only a week into the term. And as if Bianca hadn't had it difficult already with all the reports in the Daily Prophet, Umbridge had changed her name on all the records to Bianca Riddle so the rumours flying around the school were just worsened. In lessons, Bea was referred to as Miss Riddle and Umbridge loved to pick on her to answer every question just to bring attention to her and make the class erupt into whispers.

The twins had been secretly asking younger students if they would help test their products and Bianca was always on standby with healing spells ready just in case and plenty of money to thank them for their time and efforts. Over the summer, Bianca had decided to focus on becoming a healer. She'd had lots of practice healing when living with the twins so was now quite experienced in the subject. It would also be a useful skill if Fred and George wanted to continue inventing which nearly always ended in blowing something up or producing toxic fumes and there was something satisfying about helping people when they needed it. It would be a way to prove to people that she wasn't evil; she wanted to help. Thankfully, to become a healer, she didn't need a N.E.W.T. in Defence against the Dark Arts, so the small amount she learned in Umbridge's class wasn't awful for her, but she felt terrible for her friends who needed to do well.

Several weeks into the terms and they still hadn't learned anything so Fred and George decided to start taking things into their own hands in the form of pranks. They caused as much mayhem as they possibly could in lessons. To begin with, Umbridge ignored them but the twins took that as a challenge and just tried even harder.

In one lesson, Umbridge entered the room to find Fred sitting behind her desk writing and the rest of the class working on defensive spells in pairs while George observed them.

"What is going on here?" she asked sweetly.

"Ah, Professor!" Fred stood up and grinned, "We were just doing some defence work. Perhaps you'd like to give us some pointers seeing as that is supposed to be your job."

"Wands away, everyone," Umbridge ignored Fred and marched to the front of the room, "I expected better behaviour from a seventh-year class, but if everyone takes their seats and gets their books out immediately there will be no consequences."

"You heard the woman," George said, "Everyone sit down, you have exams this year!"

"Thank you, Mr Weasley, I can handle my own class."

"You can't teach them, though," Fred mumbled, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"What was that?" Umbridge turned on him as the rest of the class sat down at their desks.

"I was merely observing, professor, that we don't seem to have learnt anything yet this year."

"As I have told you all, Mr Weasley, I am following strict instructions and guidance directly from the ministry. Now kindly move away from my desk and take your place at your own."

Fred sat down with a smirk at George. A few minutes later, the rest of the class was reading from their textbooks but the twins were sitting back, smiling as Umbridge sipped her tea.

"Mr Weasley," she said with a horribly fake smile, "I believe I asked you to read chapters 6 and 7 of your books."

The twins bowed and opened their books, turning them page by page to the beginning of chapter 6. Umbridge watched them, picking up a biscuit slowly and nibbling on it. A few seconds later, there was a large poof of smoke and feathers and a large canary was fluttering above the desk in Umbridge's place. Most of the class burst into laughter but Fred and George continued to flick through their books to the correct page. A couple of minutes later and their professor had returned to her small, angry state and her face was now a deeper shade of pink than her robes. She took a few breaths to calm herself and then regained her composure and instructed the class to continue reading.

The twins shared a look and immediately knew what they were going to do. They took it in turns reading the paragraphs in the book out loud.

"Mr Weasley," Umbridge said, "I asked for silence."

"I'm so sorry professor," George said politely, "I thought you asked us to read."

"In silence, Mr Weasley, not out loud."

The twins looked down and continued to read mouthing the words but not saying them so that their mouths made horrible noises.

"Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley, for disturbing my class multiple times."

"I'm sorry, professor, I didn't think we'd learn any more whether we were causing a distraction or not," Fred said, "Next time you aren't educating us, let us know and we'll try to behave."

Umbridge looked at a loss for words so George continued, "See it's quite hard for us to determine whether you're teaching a lesson or not. There's no real difference- we aren't learning anything either way."

"In fact," Fred continued, "The canary was almost more helpful. At least now we know how to defend ourselves against something, even if it is only a bird."

"And tell me, what else would you need to defend yourselves against, Mr Weasley?"

Umbridge was practically shaking with rage and Bianca was surprised she couldn't see any steam coming from her ears.

"Well, seeing as the ministry is incapable of doing its job and defending us from evil, it seems we'll have to do it."

"There is no evil that you need protecting from," Umbridge said sharply, ignoring the mutters from the class.

"Oh yeah?" Fred said loudly, "What about maybe a certain Dark Lord that made a glorious return last summer?"

The class fell silent. It was made up of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, so some people believed Harry's and Bianca's story while others were unsure or completely adamant it wasn't true.

"Fred," Bianca said quietly, "Not here."

"Be quiet, Miss Riddle, I don't need you feeding him more ridiculous lies." Bianca tensed and glared at her teacher. Fred and George stepped forward protectively.

"She isn't lying," George said.

Umbridge giggled sweetly, "Of course she is, dear. Don't you think is awfully convenient how the only person who saw You-Know-Who 'return' turns out to be his daughter."

"Harry was there too," Fred said.

"He is a boy! Full of stories or easily manipulated. Now sit down and be silent before I put both of you in detention. You have disrupted this lesson enough."

"Oh, are you actually going to teach us something now?" Fred asked, "I'd love to see that."

"Or maybe you're just going to come up with more excuses and lies to hide behind."

"Detention!" Umbridge said and then turned towards them with a smug smirk, "Miss Riddle."

"Excuse me?" Bianca looked up.

"You will join me in detention tomorrow evening. If there are any arguments _from anyone_ , you will also join me every evening next week."

"She didn't do anything!" George said angrily, fists balled, "That isn't fair."

"A week's worth of detention it is," Umbridge said, "I suggest you sit down, Mr Weasley, before you make this any worse for Miss Riddle."

Fred and George stood for a minute, glaring in detest at Umbridge until Bianca grabbed their sleeves and pulled them into their seats. None of them dared speak for the rest of the lesson but as soon as they were dismissed and safely in the Great Hall for lunch, the twins turned to Bianca.

"We are so sorry," Fred said, "We never meant for you to get in trouble."

"It isn't your fault," Bianca smiled genuinely, "She's horrible, the class needs lightening up and you two make everyone laugh. It's important for you to be you."

"Not if you're getting punished for it."

"She's been holding out on telling us off all year to figure out the best way to make us pay," George said miserably.

"For crying out loud, will you cheer up?" Bianca exclaimed, "You're the happiest people in the school but you're being all gloomy. I forbid you to stop pranking and joking just because I have a detention. I don't need DADA anyway, if she keeps doing that, I'll just drop it. I don't care, so you don't have to care."

"It's not fair that you're getting in trouble for what we're doing."

"It's just a few detentions," Bianca told them, "Think about all the detentions you've had over the years. You're both still alive so I'm sure I can survive a week of Umbridge."

Unfortunately, 'just' a detention, turned into 'just' mild torture. After Bea's first session with Umbridge, she was ready to throw the woman off a bridge into a live volcano. She'd been treated like dirt from the second she entered the office. Umbridge had kept a tight grip on her wand for the entirety of the detention as if she thought Bianca would jump up and start cursing her. Not that she wasn't tempted, but Bea wasn't evil. She'd serve her detentions and hopefully never set foot in the room again. The professor had then taken way too long deciding what she wanted to make Bianca write several hundred times, telling her sweetly that there were so many things wrong with her, that it was difficult to sum it all up in one sentence. In the end, she decided on 'I must be good and follow the rules'. Bianca had sighed and shaken her head before picking up the quill and looking around for ink.

"You won't be needing any," Umbridge had told her with a fake smile, "Please begin, I will tell you when you may leave."

"Yes, professor."

She'd been there for hours, writing roll after roll of parchment in her own blood. She forced herself not to show any signs of discomfort, but the blood dripping from the back of her hand onto the desk seemed to be enough to satisfy Umbridge. Any visual pain would have just been a bonus. Nearly four hours after she'd started her detention, Umbridge final told her to stop.

"I suggest you get those boys under control," Umbridge told her as she left, "Otherwise you'll be at this desk a lot. I'll see you here again tomorrow."

Bianca left without a word and slammed the door shut, leaning against it and holding her hand. She looked down- the blood from the cuts had completely obscured the words which had been engraved into her skin. Suddenly thankful for her new knowledge for healing, she cleaned up the blood and healed the cuts to the best of her ability so that it wouldn't be noticeable. She'd just have to hope her face wouldn't give too much away to the twins. If they saw what Umbridge did, they'd go into over-protective mode and Bianca didn't want them to stop being their usual bubbly selves.

On the way back to the common room, she took deep breaths to calm herself, before climbing through the portrait hole. Fred and George were the only people still up- if slumped on the sofa snoring counted as 'up'. She smiled and walked over to them, sitting down by their heads. Fred jerked awake, sitting up and stirring George who groaned and rolled off the sofa.

"You're back!" Fred said happily, "What took so long?"

"I had to write lines," Bianca said, "She wouldn't let me leave until I'd done enough."

 **"** **Why do you look so pale?" George asked.**

 **"** **I'm tired," Bianca said, "For my first ever detention, that was pretty intense. You didn't have to stay up for me, by the way."**

 **"** **Of course we did," Fred said.**

 **"** **Well, you don't have to stay up every night this week. If I'm this late back every time, you'll never get any sleep. And how are you supposed to think of any good pranks if you're constantly exhausted?"**

 **Thankfully, Fred and George listened to Bianca and after the first night, didn't wait in the common room for her. Bianca was glad of this because as the week progressed, her wounds took longer to heal so often when she got back from her detention, they were still visible. On the last day of her detention sentence, Umbridge kept Bea much longer than she had on any other night. She ended writing nearly twice the amount she had previously and her hand was past the point of being sore. It had been agonising for hours, but by the time she was finally allowed to stop, it was so numb, she couldn't even feel the blood on her fingers.**

 **"** **That is enough," Umbridge said finally, "Stop."**

 **She got up and inspected Bianca's hand, glaring at her.**

 **"** **I don't want you here again," Umbridge continued, "Of course, if I could have it my way, I wouldn't want you in the school at all, but-"**

 **"** **I have every right to be in this school, professor," Bianca said, "But you have no right to put me in detention for things I didn't do."**

 **"** **You are a dangerous liar and you need to know that you can't get away with it."**

 **"** **Dangerous?" Bianca shot to her feet, "What about me is dangerous?"**

 **"** **You are the daughter of the most evil man ever to live! You share his blood!"**

 **"** **I haven't got any blood left," Bianca said dryly, "You just made me use it all writing lines. And I didn't even know he was my father until a couple of months ago."**

 **"** **That's what you'd like us to think. I know this is all part of your wicked plot."**

 **"** **Wicked plan to do what?" Bianca sighed, "Prank people into thinking You-Know-Who is back? Really evil, that is. In case you hadn't noticed, no one believes me anyway. I hardly see what one seventeen-year-old girl could pull off all alone when the rest of the world thinks she's insane."**

 **"** **As soon as I can get you expelled, I will enjoy seeing you leave this school," Umbridge told her, "You're a horrid little girl."**

 **Bianca subtly took her wand out of her robes and turned to leave, "Good night, professor," she opened the door, quietly muttered a curse and ran, not stopping to heal her hand until she was back in the common room. She couldn't wait for Defence Against the Dark Arts the next morning to show Fred and George what she'd done as revenge.**

 **Once safely back in the common room, Bianca sunk into an armchair to heal her hand. She winced as she washed off the blood to reveal the words which were deeply carved into her skin. She was surprised she couldn't see the bones underneath. Glancing up at the clock, she saw it was way past midnight. She'd been in detention for nearly six hours! Bianca sighed and went back to fixing her hand. After half an hour, the scars were still visible in the flesh but it wasn't as noticeable as before so Bianca deemed is acceptable and dragged herself up to bed.**

 **The next morning, the only thing that stopped her from staying in bed and skipping Defence Against the Dark Arts was what she'd done to Umbridge when leaving her detention. Hurriedly, she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to meet the twins for breakfast and dragged them all the way to the Great Hall.**

 **"** **Why are you so excited?" George asked, laughing.**

 **"** **You'll see," Bianca smiled cheekily, "Eat quickly."**

 **"** **Why?" Fred said, "We have Umbridge first. You hate that lesson."**

 **"** **How was detention, by the way?" George said, sipping some juice.**

 **Bianca smirked, "Fine. I'm glad to have them all done with."**

 **"** **What did you do?" Fred said suspiciously, "Why are you in such a good mood?"**

 **"** **Wait and see, Mr Impatient."**

 **A few minutes later and they were sitting with the rest of the class waiting for Umbridge. Bianca had told the twins not to misbehave at all in the lesson and had taken a couple of her own secret supplies in her bag. When Umbridge entered the room, the class immediately erupted into sniggers. With one quick spell at the end of her detention, Bianca had cut the teacher's hair so the shape of a cat was shaved onto the back of her head. Every so often it would move around and the figure would deposit a 'present' in Umbridge's hair which even smelt real. Bianca was just beginning to wish she'd designed a litter tray too when Umbridge started the lesson from her seat at her desk. The class was still laughing about her haircut but calmed down when she glared at them all, unaware of what they were actually laughing at.**

 **"** **You will continue to read your textbooks from chapter 9, making notes on everything you deem to be important. Begin in silence," Umbridge picked up her mug to take a sip but then screeched in horror when it jumped out of her hand and bit her sharply on the nose. Pink tea splashed everywhere, staining her robes and when she finally managed to yank the cup off her nose, a green bite mark remained on the tip. Umbridge shot to her feet and stormed to Fred and George's desk. While she was distracted, Bianca levitated one of her muggle pranking devices called a Whoopee cushion onto her seat so when Umbridge returned to her desk and sat down, a rather large fart noise erupted from her.**

 **Stifled sniggers filled the room and Bianca muttered, "I think her cat has some digestive issues."**

 **Fred and George burst out laughing and immediately, Umbridge was in front of her desk.**

 **"** **Are you responsible for this?" she held up the cushion in anger.**

 **"** **Of course not, professor," Bianca said innocently, "How could I be? I've been here all lesson." Bianca had made sure not to place the cushion there before the lesson so Umbridge wouldn't know who was responsible.**

 **As Umbridge turned to go back to the front of the room, Bianca reached into her bag again and magically levitated a banana skin right into her path. A few seconds and a crash later, Umbridge had landed on her backside and, quite by luck, on the whoopee cushion again. Bianca quickly vanished the banana. The shaved cat on the back of Umbridge's head had fallen and was lying on its back, legs in the air. When the now extremely annoyed professor got to her feet, Bianca flicked her wand once more so the back of Umbridge's skirt ripped open to reveal her pair of extravagant pink frilly knickers. By this point, the class couldn't contain themselves. Everyone was rolling around laughing hysterically.**

 **"** **That is enough!" Umbridge screeched from the front of the room. She sat down at her desk once she had checked for any pranks, to protect her dignity and ordered them all back to work. She picked up her quill and started writing furiously. Bianca forced her head down so she couldn't be caught waiting for what was going to happen. No one else in the room would notice, but knowing that Umbridge was getting a taste of her own medicine was enough. Not long after and Umbridge had slammed her quill back down on the desk in fury, pain etched slightly on her face. Bianca could just see the red marks on her other hand which hadn't been enough to draw blood, but still irritated the skin.**

 **"** **Class dismissed," she snapped, "I want any work you didn't do in the lesson finished for Monday." The class got to their feet, chairs scraping loudly, "Miss Riddle," Umbridge continued, "A word, if you please?"**

 **Bianca turned to face her teacher, smiling politely, "Yes, professor?"**

 **"** **I know you are responsible," Umbridge held up her petite hand, showing the marks.**

 **"** **Professor, you can't blame me for you mixing your quills up."**

 **"** **You have toyed with me all lesson but this is too far!" she warned.**

 **"** **I did nothing of the sort professor," Bianca indicated to all the work she'd done, "I did exactly as you said."**

 **"** **I will get you for this."**

 **"** **If you say so, Professor," Bianca said and turned to leave, "I like your haircut, by the way."**


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

 **Bianca walked to Transfigurations with the twins laughing manically about their previous lesson.**

 **"** **That was amazing!" George laughed, "How did you plan all of that?"**

 **"** **I grew up with you two," Bianca said, "How could I not have picked up a few tricks along the way?"**

 **"** **I must say," Fred sniggered, "You did a very good job. There were a few bits that needed improving but, overall, very entertaining."**

 **"** **I learnt from the best," Bianca smiled at the twins and reached up to high five them.**

 **"** **What's that?" Fred said, grabbing Bea's wrist as she went to high five George. "I must be good and follow the rules," he read out, "Explain."**

 **Bianca sighed, "Umbridge's quills don't write in ink, they write in whoever's blood is using them."**

 **"** **And she made you-"**

 **"** **Yes, George," Bianca said, "I wrote thousands of lines in my own blood for a week. But I got her back. That's what today's lesson was for, getting her back."**

 **The twins looked furious, "Why didn't you tell us?"**

 **"** **Because you'd do something stupid and either get yourselves in detention or get me in more trouble. I wanted to get revenge on my own."**

 **"** **And you think a couple of pranks counts as revenge for this?" Fred said, still holding her hand and looking at it, pure rage on his face.**

 **"** **Of course not," Bianca said, "I got rid of all her normal quills and multiplied her stupid blood ones so now she only has them. That's why she dismissed the class early- she couldn't face the pain of writing in her own blood."**

 **"** **That's still not enough," George growled.**

 **"** **Don't worry, I have more planned," Bianca smiled, "Maybe I'll get your help this time though." She quickly explained her plans to the boys and the grinned at her.**

 **"** **Brilliant," George said, "I can't believe we ever thought you were innocent."**

 **"** **Maybe you are evil," Fred said, "George, we should have listened to the Prophet. She's relentless! When do you plan on carrying out these evil deeds?"**

 **"** **Not immediately. I'll drag it all out slowly," she winked at them and took her seat in Transfigurations.**

 **"** **We've corrupted her," Fred said, sitting down next to George.**

 **"** **I know," George said, "It's great."**

 **That evening in the common room, the three were carrying out a few tests on their products when Hermione approached them.**

 **"** **We've already told you they're willing and well paid," George said, placing the recovering end of a Fainting Fancy into an unconscious second year's mouth.**

 **"** **I'm not here about that," Hermione said, "But I still think you should stop."**

 **"** **Why are you here?" Fred asked, helping the boy sit up and asking if he felt alright.**

 **"** **We're having a meeting," Hermione said, scowling at the boy, "Harry's going to teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts seeing as Umbridge is completely incompetent."**

 **"** **Ok, sounds cool," George said, "Is that it?"**

 **"** **Yes," Hermione said shortly, "We're meeting in the Hog's Head tomorrow."**

 **"** **See you there," Fred said and then turned to George, "It worked flawlessly. I reckon we've got these perfected."**

 **Hermione hadn't moved, "I really do think that-"**

 **"** **Hermione," George sighed, "They're perfectly safe. We'd never do anything that would actually harm someone. We're jokesters, not sadists. We've tested all of these out on ourselves multiple times, anything bad that could have happened, happened to us first."**

 **"** **But they're just young!"**

 **"** **In a few months we'll be selling our products, including Skiving Snackboxes, to anyone. These guys are lucky they're being paid to use them instead of paying to use them," Fred said, "I promise, it's not dangerous."**

 **"** **Yeah, you can try one if you want- see for yourself," George said.**

 **"** **No, thank you," Hermione's lips were still pursed, "I'll see you tomorrow." She turned and marched off.**

 **"** **You don't need to be rude to her," Bianca told the boys, handing a student a Fever Fudge to try.**

 **"** **We weren't," George said as he paid the boy, thanked him and let him go, "It's just annoying that she thinks we're the type of people to hurt people."**

 **Bianca rubbed the student's back as they started shivering violently and carefully observed their temperature as it gradually rose. Once it had reached a certain heat, their Fever stopped increasing and remained constant for a few minutes until Bianca gave them the antidote and it returned to normal.**

 **"** **Everything works," Fred said happily once they'd finished testing everything, "The Fever Fudges raise temperatures to 38 degrees and then the antidote returns it to whatever it was originally. There is some slightly shivering for effect. The Nosebleed Nougats will cause bleeding for either five minutes or until the cure is given."**

 **"** **Fainting Fancies knock someone out cold for ten minutes or until the remedy is given and there are no other side effects of nausea or dizziness," George took over, reading from their notes, "Puking Pastilles produce enough vomit to get you out of class, but not so much that you can't take the antidote."**

 **"** **That's it, they're all fine," Fred grinned, "We've cracked Skiving Snackboxes!"**

 **"** **How are you doing in terms of premises?" Bianca asked, "You still have that meeting tomorrow, right?"**

 **"** **Yeah," Fred said, "We'll have to find them after that thing with Harry."**

 **"** **He said it's a really big space in the letter," George said, flicking through their notebook which they kept notes on all their products in, "It has a flat above the shop and a back room we can use for production as well as a storage space."**

 **"** **He's going to bring photos seeing as we can't actually go and look around," Fred continued, looking over George's shoulder, "You can tick off that we tested those tea-cups."**

 **"** **So we'll be busy tomorrow, then," Bianca said, "Meeting with Harry and then meeting with Mr Shop-Man."**

 **The twins nodded, "But if we can get the premises for the shop secured, we can start sending stuff over so it's not cluttering up the dorm or our room at home. Hopefully Mr Shop-Man has a good deal for us."**

 **After the meeting in the Hog's Head about learning defensive magic in secret, Fred, George and Bianca rushed off to the Three Broomsticks. They immediately spotted a professional looking man in the corner with some paper work and a stack of photos next to him.**

 **"** **Ah, you must be the Weasleys," the man said as they approached, "Lovely to meet you. I'm Mr Hartman." He looked at Bianca apprehensively but George was quick to reassure him everything in the papers was a lie.**

 **"** **I'm sure it is," Hartman smiled warmly, "I just didn't know you were all friends."**

 **"** **Bea grew up with us," Fred explained as they all took their seats, "Our parents raised her."**

 **"** **I see. So if you buy this property, she'll be living and working with you?"**

 **The three looked at each other, "Hopefully living but probably not working. Is that alright?"**

 **"** **Of course," Hartman picked up some photos and spread them out on the table, "The flat is quite small, but there are three rooms," he pointed at the relevant pictures in turn, "There are two bathrooms, one acts as a joint en suite to two of the bedrooms and the other is just stand alone. The kitchen and living space is open plan in one room and everything else just comes off that. The flat is fairly basic, I'm afraid, but it's nice. Can I get you all some drinks while you look at the photos?"**

 **"** **No, we're fine, thank you," George said, "We just had a drink."**

 **"** **Is there access to the shop from the flat?" Fred asked.**

 **"** **Yep," he pushed a photo towards the twins, "This is the front door to the flat. From there, there's a set of stairs which leads to the back of the shop. That door there goes straight onto the alley. The entrance to the actual flat is protected by several spells all of which are personalised to whoever owns the property."**

 **"** **What about the shop?"**

 **"** **That's harder to protect when you have customers going in and out all day so there's nothing currently in place, but you can change that if you want."**

 **"** **You said there are three floors," George said, "One's the flat, one the shop. What's the final floor?"**

 **"** **That would be the storage space," Hartman picked up a picture of a large open space, "It's between the shop and the flat. Most of it is for stowing goods but there's a section where you can set up your production area. It's all charmed so that when a product is made it goes into storage and then you can also set it so that if stocks are running low downstairs, it'll send some down for you to replace it."**

 **"** **It looks great," Fred said, studying each photo carefully, "What's that room behind the shop?"**

 **"** **An office currently, but you could use it for whatever you want. Extra storage or you could knock it down and extend the shop," Hartman said.**

 **After a long conversation, and talks of money and payments, the twins thanked Hartman and told them they'd consider it and send an owl with their decision.**

 **"** **I don't have anyone else interested in buying," he told them, "So if you want it, it's yours, I'll keep it for you. But I need a decision quickly so I know if I need to put it back on the market."**

 **"** **There's just a few things we need to think about," George promised, "We won't keep you waiting."**

 **Hartman shook all three of their hands and got up, "I'll wait for your owl," he smiled and left the pub, leaving the photos for them to look over,**

 **"** **The flat's a bit small," George pointed out as they discussed it.**

 **"** **But that's fine," Fred said, "We're used to sleeping in the same bedroom, the fact we have one each is practically luxurious. George is the only one of us that can actually cook so we don't need a huge kitchen and there's plenty of space for furniture in the rest of the room."**

 **"** **There's always that bit downstairs if we need the extra space. It doesn't have to be an office."**

 **"** **An office would be nice, though," George debated, "Somewhere to store product ideas and paperwork."**

 **"** **We want the space though, right?" Bianca said, "It's the only shop available on Diagon Alley at the moment that we'll actually be able to work in, and there's nowhere in Hogsmeade."**

 **"** **I think so," Fred said after a quick silent conversation with George, "I mean, it looks nice and there's loads of room. With any luck, we'll be earning more than enough money to afford it."**

 **The three made their way back to the castle, discussing the shop and looking through the photos thoroughly. The property was everything they needed and more but Bianca had suggested they wait at least a couple of days before making a final decision, just in case they thought of anything important.**

 **Over the next few days, Fred, George and Bianca spent all their time working and discussing the shop. With all the N.E.W.T. work they were being given and Quidditch training, there was little time for anything else, but they'd managed to find a few spare minutes to send a letter to Mr Hartman, accepting the offer on the shop. He'd kindly told them that they wouldn't have to pay at all until they started moving into the building, but rates would be slightly higher once they were using the building fully. The twins deemed this fair and were overjoyed that their dreams of owning a shop were coming true.**

 **For that reason, they had finally decided that Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons could be spent messing around and joking. They'd perfected the art of pranking Umbridge without being caught so no one got in trouble. It had taken weeks for Umbridge's hair to grow back over the shaved cat so she'd stubbornly worn a hat to cover both the art and the smell until it was gone. Fred and George enjoyed charming this hat to occasionally fall off or change colour so it clashed horribly with her pink outfit. Once they'd transfigured all the desks in the classroom into cats which were immediately attracted to Umbridge and cuddled up against her until George turned them back into desks and they promptly collapsed on top of her.**

 **At one point, they'd changed her pink office into a rainbow coloured room in which small stars fell from the ceiling and fizzled to the ground, dissipating into sparkles. Another time Bianca had changed the entire class' robes into the same pattern she'd turned Fred and George's clothes over summer and when Umbridge demanded to know what had happened, they pretended it was all perfectly normal.**

 **As the year progressed, they continued to do small things all of which were untraceable but hilarious. With the shop secured, Fred and George didn't put nearly as much work into their lessons, even though Bianca still worked tirelessly to achieve good grades so she could become a healer. Defence lessons with Harry and the rest of Dumbledore's Army were great fun and they did learn so much more than they had with Umbridge all year.**

 **All in all, their first few months back at school were completely hectic and they had no free time at all, only managing to squeeze in the occasional prank from time to time. That was until the Quidditch match when George and Harry got into a fight with Malfoy. Bianca was just managing to pull George away from the brawl when the boys were sent away.**

 **Bianca had sat with Fred while McGonagall spoke to Harry and George, desperately trying to calm him down. His anger had only just dissipated when the boys returned to inform the rest of the team that all three of them had been banned. Angelina was furious, the boys and Alicia were upset and Bianca felt so bad for them, she stayed with the boys all night on the sofa. When Angelina had announced she was going to bed and disappeared up the stairs with Alicia, Fred and George got up to leave too, but Bianca dragged them to the kitchen for hot drinks and cake to cheer them up.**

 **"** **On the bright side," Fred said, "We have more time to prank Umbridge."**

 **"** **And now she** ** _really_** **deserves it," George agreed, "And at least Bea can still play."**

 **"** **Yeah, but practice sessions will drag without you two. Angie's going to go mental trying to form a decent team."**

 **"** **Just wait until exams," George laughed, "Then she'll be doubly stressed."**

 **"** **Maybe it's a good thing we escaped it," Fred said.**

 **"** **I feel bad for Harry, though," Bianca said, "Everything's so rough for him at the moment and Quidditch was the one thing he really enjoyed."**

 **"** **There's always the D.A."**

 **After their late-night snack, the three stayed in the common room together, chatting aimlessly about anything and everything. Lee came down at one point, wondering where they all were, and joined them by the window where they were huddled.**

 **A few days before Christmas, Angelina had finally formed a new team. Ginny would be taking the place of Seeker. Bianca would be switching positions to Beater so that they had someone with at least some experience in the position. A boy called Andrew Kirke would be the other. Katie Bell was stepping up as the final Chaser. It wasn't a great team, but at least every position was filled. Practices were awful to begin with. Nothing was as smooth as it had been with the others. Bianca and Kirke didn't have the same chemistry that Fred and George had, so until they got used to each other's tactics, there were several occasions where they crashed into each other after going to hit the same bludger. Thankfully, Katie had fit in beautifully as a Chaser and Ginny was a really good Seeker, so Angie had deemed them match ready and finally decided not to pull out of the cup which had been a possibility earlier on. It had taken Bianca and Alicia both reminding her of the efforts she went to convincing Umbridge to allow the Gryffindor team to play at all to fully convince Angie to carry on coaching.**

 **Not that training was much fun anyway. Without Fred and George lightening the mood and with Angelina's extra stress and anger, it was more like three hours of Angie shouting at them, threatening to hex them and continually telling them that a team of nifflers would beat them in a match if they continued to play the way they were. D.A. sessions were a nice break from the intensity of Quidditch and N.E.W.T. work. Bianca was sad that the last session before Christmas was a few days before they broke up so she couldn't even end the term on a high. Despite this, she had a great time going over everything they'd learnt so far with Harry and, as after every D.A. meeting, went to bed with a smile on her face.**


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Sorry I was a day late with the upload last time, I completely forgot. Also I don't know what weird formatting thing made all the text bold but hopefully that should be sorted now. If not, please let me know what you think is happening haha. :D

I'm really behind with writing because of exams so I'm not sure how regular uploads will be for the next few weeks, sorry.

Chapter 38

When Bianca woke up the next morning, she wasn't expecting it to still be dark. And she certainly wasn't expecting to find Professor McGonagall leaning over her, shaking her shoulder urgently and telling her to get up. She followed the professor out of the dorm quietly and just as Ginny was dragging herself out of her own dorm. They shared a confused look and hurried after McGonagall who had already got down the stairs into the common room where Fred and George were standing looking tired and dishevelled.

"You all need to come with me quickly," McGonagall told them sharply, "Your father has been injured."

The four shared concerned looks. "Professor," George said carefully, "How do you know?"

"Mr Potter saw it in a vision. Your brother is with him now in Professor Dumbledore's office. You need to come with me quickly and quietly before someone notices what's going on."

It was quite clear that by 'someone' McGonagall meant Umbridge, so Fred, George, Ginny and Bianca rushed through the Hogwarts corridors hurriedly and joined Ron and Harry in Dumbledore's office.

"Your father has been injured in his course of work for the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore told them seriously, "I am sending you back to Sirius' house which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

Fred and George both looked shaken, so Bianca reached out and took their hands, squeezing them gently for reassurance. She'd let go momentarily to take hold of the portkey but as soon as they were back at Grimmauld Place, she'd wrapped both of them in a hug, telling them it would all be fine. Bianca knew that one thing Fred and George were deadly serious about was family. Even the smallest of things was enough to send them both into panic until they knew for definite that whoever it was would be alright. Both twins were desperate to go to St Mungo's to find out how their father was and Bianca was so wrapped up in calming them down, she forgot to be embarrassed- something she couldn't help but feel whenever she saw Sirius after being told the story of her delirious actions the previous year.

"I know it's hard, but we all have to act as if we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, alright?" Sirius spoke to them sternly, putting a halt to the twins' outburst of anger and concern.

They all sat around the table for hours, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for news. When Mrs Weasley's note arrived, informing them that Mr Weasley was still alive did little to reassure anyone. She gave no indication of how serious the injury was, but the way the letter was worded made it seem like it wasn't definite that he'd stay alive much longer. When Fred's head dropped sideways and he fell into a light slumber, not long after they received the news, Bianca smiled softly, folded her arms on the table and rested her head in her elbow. She felt George drape an arm gently over her back protectively and place his down next to her. His shallow breath tickled the back of her neck but Bianca found that comforting.

She must have drifted off at some point because the next thing she was aware of was Mrs Weasley entering the room and being stirred when Fred, Ron and Harry moved to get up. George lifted his arm and looked up hopefully at his mother.

"He's going to be alright," she told them all, voice strained with exhaustion, "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now; he's going to take the morning off work."

George and Ginny moved around the table to hug their mother properly. Fred let out a huge sigh of relief and buried his face in his hands. Bianca lowered her head and rested it on the table again, tears streaming down her face.

After a quick breakfast which no one ate much of, everyone headed upstairs to get a few hours rest before they went into the hospital to visit Mr Weasley. Fred insisted on giving Bianca a piggy-back ride up the stairs, telling her that she looked too tired to get up by herself. She suspected he just wanted to feel like he could be of help to someone seeing as he couldn't help his dad, so smiled appreciatively and allowed him to carry her. As it turned out, Fred might have been right seeing as she was fast asleep on his back before they'd even got to the stairs, let alone their bedroom.

The three slept huddled together on one bed throughout the morning, arms wrapped around each other. When they woke up, Fred and George were extremely fidgety, desperate to go and visit their father. They ate lunch at lightning speed and were jittery the whole journey to the hospital. She was glad to see how much they cheered up when they saw Mr Weasley happily propped up on several pillows and reading the paper. Their moods soared, all over the moon that the person they cared so much about was recovering nicely right in front of their eyes.

When they got back to Grimmauld Place, everyone seemed to be feeling considerably better with the exception of Harry who locked himself in his and Ron's room and refused to talk to anyone. Bianca watched him go up the stairs sadly, knowing how bad he must be feeling after what they heard at the hospital. Fred and George's Extendable Ears had seemed like a good idea at the time but now, Bea wasn't so sure it was a conversation they wanted to listen in to, especially now that Harry had isolated himself from everyone.

By the time Christmas rolled around, everyone was very cheerful. On Christmas morning, Fred, George and Bianca got up early with the intention of setting up some pranks for laughs only to be disappointed when Sirius, Lupin and Mrs Weasley were already up. Sirius was at the table, drinking some coffee with Lupin, while Mrs Weasley bustled around the kitchen making preparations for lunch. They halted when they saw a package on the table.

"Erm, mum," Fred said carefully, "Did you forget to send Percy his jumper or…?"

Mrs Weasley turned around, spotting the parcel, "Oh," tears started forming in her eyes, "He must have- he must have sent it back."

Bianca winced at the words, rushing over to hug her mother as she sobbed horribly. "It's alright mum," she said soothingly, "I'm sure he has a good reason."

"Yeah," George said sourly, "That reason being he's a humungous pile of rat droppings."

"George!" Bianca said, eyebrows raised and rubbing Mrs Weasley's back as she fell to the floor in tears.

Lupin got to his feet and helped Bianca guide Mrs Weasley over to a seat, "Boys, why don't you go upstairs for a while? See what Harry and Ron are up to."

Fred and George vanished up the stairs, sharing a sad look. Bianca busied herself with making a strong cup of tea and locating some biscuits while Lupin comforted her mother. She was outraged that Percy had done such a thing without even sending a note. Bea continued cooking the Christmas lunch with Sirius while Mrs Weasley calmed down.

"Did you have any say in Fred and George's present for me, by any chance?" Sirius asked her as he chopped some carrots.

Bianca looked of mischievously from the sink where she was washing sprouts, "Maybe. Did you like it?"

Sirius laughed, considering the set of dog toys and selection of canine treats that the twins had gifted him, "I might find some use for them. How did you like your pillow?"

"It's placed firmly in front of my headboard to avoid any possible injury," Bianca giggled. Sirius has given her a huge pillow which stretched out as wide as her bed with a note that explained it was to stop her hitting her head.

"You aren't still embarrassed about that, are you?" Sirius asked her, grinning.

"Of course I am," Bianca laughed, "Fred and George never let me forget what happened, explaining it in detail if they think I'm starting to get over it. Their favourite parts are the cushion attack and when I hit my head."

"That may be their favourite part now, but I assure you that at the time, they were going mental. Made Madame Pomfrey check you over several times for concussion. I'm pretty sure they thought you'd accidentally killed yourself."

Bianca smiled, "They're protective like that. Anything to do with family and they lose all common sense."

"I know," Sirius said, "I saw the other night. You're drowning those sprouts, by the way."

Bianca looked down at the vegetables which she was still washing under the tap, blushed and turned off the water, "Oops."

"Not a cooking expert?" Sirius joked.

"Definitely not," Bianca quickly informed him of her lack of ability to even cook bacon.

Sirius guffawed at the story, "Note to self: Bea likes her bacon on the crispy side."

"I haven't gone near bacon since," Bianca promised.

A few minutes later and they were being pushed out the way by Mrs Weasley who had fully recovered emotionally and was mumbling about how it was her job to cook. Sirius sat back down at the table with Lupin while Bea went off to find Fred and George.

"How's mum?" George asked, looking up from the cauldron he was stirring.

"Fine," Bianca sat down next to him, "Fussing over Christmas dinner. She got upset when Sirius and I tried to help."

"Of course she did," Fred said, "It's not mum if she's not trying to do a billion things at once without any help."

"What're you making?"

"Nothing in particular," George peered over the cauldron, looking at the mixture inside, "We're just experimenting."

All in all, it was a very strange Christmas. Visiting Mr Weasley in hospital and then returning to Grimmauld place felt wrong. It was, naturally, much better than Bianca's last Christmas because this time at least she went to bed safely and wasn't missing in the morning. Fred and George had wanted to strap her down to the bed to prevent anyone from kidnapping her until Bea reminded them that a very limited amount of people actually knew the house was even there and none of those people would be interested in kidnapping her.

"We could use a sticking charm," George said, ignoring her observations, "Stick her to the bed."

"That would look weird if someone came in though," Fred said.

"And tying me down wouldn't?" Bianca demanded.

"I miss the bubble-wrap," George sighed, "That was the best solution we've come up with."

"Maybe we could ask Sirius for some more pillows and just stick them to her."

"Do you want me to be incapable of doing everything?"

"If you can't do anything, you can't get hurt," Fred told her.

"And then I'll just die slowly of starvation or boredom?"

"We'd never let you starve!" George gasped dramatically, "And nothing within a two-mile radius of us is every boring. We'll be more than entertaining."

"And then," Fred continued, "When we get the shop, and George and I are working, we'll get you one of those muggle welly-tisions that you can watch while we're busy."

"First, it's called a television," Bianca said, "And second, I would like to do something with my life that isn't sitting covered from head to toe in pillows."

"You can't even be trusted to sit in bed!" George said, "How can you expect us to let you go walking around in the big, wide world?"

"How many times do I have to tell you!" Bianca cried, "It was one time, I was insanely loopy on drugs and I can't even remember it!"

"Hit your head that hard, did you?" Fred joked.

Bianca stuck her tongue out, "You know I can't remember anything from after the tournament until about a week later. What happened to the times when you were nice to me?"

"We found out that you weren't quite as innocent as we originally thought," George said.

At one point during the remainder holidays, when the family took a trip to Diagon Alley, Fred, George and Bianca snuck away to meet with Mr Hartman and see the future premises for their shop. They started in the flat which was shaped a bit like a huge square but with a corridor coming off it in one corner. Two of the bedrooms and the joining bathroom came straight off the main living space and kitchen area and down the corridor, the other bathroom and slightly smaller bedroom were situated. Hartman showed them around quickly and then took them to the front door. He opened it and pointed down a set of stairs, "We'll go down there in a second, that takes you to the shop," he said before turning to face another door, "That leads straight onto Diagon Alley. It's charmed so you don't have to go down two flights of stairs every time you want to leave."

Fred grinned, "Awesome."

Hartman took them down the stairs so they could see the shop space. Halfway down, they reached a door which he opened so they could peer inside, "This is the storage. If you look right at the back there, you can see the production area. The charms I told you about are all set in place already so if you're running low, you know and products from storage will get down to you for restocking if necessary."

Fred and George looked around the floor. It was huge, each wall lined with shelves, storage units and cupboards. The room was quite dark, but the production room at the back had plenty of windows. Hartman took them down to the ground floor. It was very bland, but Fred and George had big plans to change that. There was plenty of space and every time they turned a corner, there seemed to be more room. The twins were in love with the building, their grins widening with every step they took. Bianca followed behind them, smiling at their excitement. She'd been interested in the flat obviously as she'd be living there too, but she'd didn't care much about the other two floors. They'd only become interesting when Fred and George had fully redesigned it and made it how they'd always envisioned their shop.

"This is the chute where any products sent down from upstairs will end up. You can send messages down as well of course," Hartman was standing next to a slot in the wall, which looked sort of like a chimney but lead up to the storage floor above them, "That's it really. The only thing I didn't tell you about is the attic. It's quite small and you can't fit much in there, but you do have one. The entrance is just above the smallest bedroom. Do you have any questions?"

Fred and George shared a look and they both shrugged. "No," Fred said, "We love it."

"So you still want to take it?" Hartman asked, smiling.

"Of course," George said, "It's perfect."

"Well, I might as well give you these now," Hartman reached into his pocket and produced several bunches of keys. "This set is for the shop and everything on this floor. These are for the storage and production area upstairs and these two sets are for the front door and flat. Each key is labelled individually to make things easier. If you'll follow me upstairs, I'll set up the protection wards to recognise you all. If anyone other than you three tries to open this door from the outside, you'll be alerted and can decide from there whether you want to let the person in. There are anti-apparition wards around the entire building but the fireplace is connected to the Floo Network; the address is 93 Diagon Alley. I'll trust you to let me know when you've moved in so you can start paying."

"We'll send an owl immediately," George promised.

"Good. I'll reply with details and paperwork," Hartman shook all their hands. They all thanked him and the man left, disappearing onto the Alley. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to stay and look around properly because they had to meet the rest of their family again, so quickly hid the keys to the shop and storage as well as one set of front door keys and left, locking everything behind them. They thought it would be a waste of time taking all the keys with them, just in case, so only took what they needed to get into the flat. Fred took the remaining set and put them safely in this pocket.

As soon as they got back to Grimmauld place, they put the keys in one of George's socks which was then put in a compartment in the bottom of Bianca's trunk. When they returned to school, they checked every single day to make sure they were still there.

The joy of securing the shop was just about all that kept Bianca going at school. Reports in the Daily Prophet told of a mass Azkaban breakout, and unfortunately, Bianca knew why they had all escaped. This article had triggered multiple comments from various people in schools, asking Bianca of she'd helped them escape and was hiding the criminals somewhere so she could attack them all. Umbridge treated her even worse than before and her classmates avoided her like the plague. Even Lee, Angelina and Alicia seemed slightly wary of her, which made Bianca but upset and irritated. Obviously, Fred and George stood by her, glaring at anyone who even suggested she wasn't a good person.

The months dragged. When Bianca wasn't doing work for N.E.W.T.s or at D.A. or Quidditch practice, she was helping Fred and George build up stocks of products or sell a few in the common room. She didn't have any time to be concerned about what the Prophet was printing about her and even a few months later when Rita Skeeter helped Harry by writing an article for the Quibbler and more people were believing Harry's story, they still seemed to think she was responsible.

One evening, after a particularly horrible lesson with Umbridge in which she'd issued all three of them detentions for no particular reason meaning they couldn't make the D.A. meeting which had been scheduled, Bianca, Fred and George were slumped on the sofa, clutching their hands. Bianca had healed the cuts relatively quickly, but their anger remained.

"We can't stay here," George said, "We have the shop now, once we've built up enough stocks we can leave!"

Fred looked at his brother and sighed sadly, "This place is like a huge solid dementor. It's gradually sucking all the fun out of us."

"We don't need N.E.W.T.s," George added, "Not with how well the business is going."

Bianca watched the boys' exchange sadly. She knew it was best for them- neither of the twins had really pranked or joked openly around the school for weeks because everywhere they went, Umbridge or one of her Inquisitorial Squad was waiting for them. It was stopping them being themselves when instead they could get out and follow their dreams. Unfortunately for Bianca, that would involve them leaving her at Hogwarts to continue with her studies because, unlike Fred and George, she did need qualifications. When Fred and George remembered this, their faces fell.

"Bea-" Fred started.

"No," Bianca interrupted him, "You have to go. There's no point staying when you can be doing better somewhere else."

"But you-"

"Will be fine," Bianca tried for a smile, "As long as you don't leave too early and promise I'll be the first person to see the shop."

"Bea, we can't leave you here," Fred choked, "We've only had about two days apart in seventeen years!"

"Fred," Bianca looked at him sadly, "Don't make it harder. This is all you've ever wanted. Your dreams are coming true right before your eyes!"

George shook his head, "It's not right if you're not there."

"We always knew I wouldn't work in the shop. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, remember? And I'm not-"

"Just because you aren't called Bianca Weasley, doesn't mean you aren't part of our family," Fred said sternly.

"It'll be a few weeks at most," Bianca said, "And you have each other. That's more important."

Fred and George shared a look, silently coming to a decision. "Fine," Fred said, "But we're staying until we can't stay anymore."

"Not because of you, of course," George said quickly, "Purely because we believe education is important and we wouldn't want to miss out on many of Umbridge's valuable lessons."

Bianca laughed and shook her head, "Just promise you won't decorate the flat without me. I want to help."

As if Fred and George's decision didn't dampen her spirits enough, Gryffindor were completely destroyed in the Quidditch match the next weekend. Ron didn't manage to save any goals and so no matter how many goals Katie, Angie and Alicia scored, Hufflepuff were always over 100 points ahead. From her temporary position as Beater, Bianca tried her best to help the team, but even by a few minutes in, everyone's spirits were so low, they practically let Hufflepuff beat them.

Things just continued to go downhill in school from then. Umbridge came out with more and more Educational Decrees, and then, the D.A. was exposed and stopped by Umbridge. Just as they'd been practising Patronuses- things that filled people with such joy and happiness- Dobby the House Elf had interrupted and warned them that they'd been found out. Dumbledore was gone and Umbridge was in charge.

The only upside to this was that Fred and George had taken this change as a challenge to cause as much chaos as possible. They sacrificed practically their entire supply of fireworks and Whizzbangs to set them all off annoy Umbridge. They were, of course, charmed to last for days and Fred and George beamed when none of the professors decided to vanish them themselves and made Umbridge get rid of them all. The twins were in an amazing mood, running around everywhere on such a high that they didn't go up to bed until the early hours of the next morning.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

They had to spend much of the next few weeks running away from Umbridge seeing as they weren't being particularly subtle about who was behind the chaos and as time rolled on, Bianca knew that very soon, they'd be leaving her at Hogwarts to pursue their dreams. Honestly, Bianca was terrified. The only days she'd been apart from the twins, she was either too young to remember or she'd been unconscious in a strange passageway. She had no idea what a day would be like without them; what it would be like to sit in lessons alone and return to a Weasley twin-free common room after those lessons. She didn't know what it was like to sit at meals without them or walk from lesson to lesson with anyone else. They seemed like the only people in the entire school who weren't sceptical of her. They protected her from the rumours, told them that she was about as evil as a new-born puppy. Bianca was scared and upset, but seeing Fred and George so happy and carefree seemed to make up for it all. It would be three or four months at most and then she'd be living with them again. They deserved to be happy, and Bianca was delighted to see them so excited to do what they love most. She helped them plan their grand exit, albeit slightly sadly and tried her best to emotionally prepare herself for their departure.

"This is going to be amazing," George said, holding their new Portable Swamp. They were hiding in a small corridor, waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"Is everything ready?" Bianca asked.

"Yep, now we just to wait for the right time so Harry can do whatever it is he's up to," Fred said, beaming excitedly.

Bianca grinned at them, hiding her pain that she was sure must be showing somewhere in her eyes.

"We'll miss you," George said, wrapping her in a huge hug, "But we'll write all the time and tell you everything we do."

Fred latched himself onto the group hug, "We won't change anything in the flat without you, and we'll be there at the platform to see you."

"If you're not too busy dealing with the thousands of customers you'll be having," Bianca joked.

"We'll never be too busy for you," Fred told her, "Don't miss us too much, yeah?"

"I won't even notice you're gone," Bianca smiled, "I still have Lee and the girls. You'll be by yourselves. Please try not to kill each other."

Bea looked up at the twins, the tears she's been holding back finally threatening to fall.

"Don't cry," George said gently, "We aren't that important."

"I'm not crying because I'll miss you," Bianca joked, "Only because I know without me there's no way you'll start a successful business and I feel bad for you."

"Then aren't we lucky we'll only have to go a couple of months without you," Fred said, reaching out to wipe away a tear from her cheek, "We'll make sure not to blow anything up seeing as we won't have our expert healer around."

"If you blow yourselves up before I get to see the shop, I'll be very upset," Bianca told them, sniffling.

"We'll stick to the things we know how to make until you're there," George said, "Now stop being upset before we feel even worse about leaving."

"Don't feel bad!" Bianca said, "You have to do this! We all know that. You can't worry about me."

"Maybe we can come to Hogsmeade!" Fred said excitedly, "If you let us know when the next weekend trip is."

Bianca smiled, rubbing her eyes to remove the tears only to have them replaced when the boys pulled her into another hug.

"We love you," George said.

"I love you too," Bianca stood up on her toes to kiss them both on the cheek and handed George the key to the flat, "Now go and make yourselves famous."

And so it was that Bianca watched Fred and George's big finale, refusing to let tears block her vision. She merged in with the crowds which were forming between lessons and made her way over to Angelina and Alicia. Not minutes later and the entire corridor was a fully-blown swampland, complete with trees, muddy water and mossy logs. Fred and George were being chased by Umbridge and some triumphant members of the Inquisitorial Squad until they had been 'cornered' exactly where they needed to be to make their escape. Umbridge smirked at them from a few steps above Bianca, "So," she said, "You think it's amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," Fred said nonchalantly while George nodded.

Filch was pushing his way through the crowds, brandishing a piece of parchment, "I've got the form, Headmistress," he said with excitement, "I've got the form, and I've got the whips waiting… oh, let me do it now…"

If Bianca didn't know what the twins were about to do, she would have looked just as terrified as everyone else did at the mention of whipping, but instead, she kept her eyes fixed on the boys, trying not to cry too much. Next to her, Angelina placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort, clearly thinking Bea was upset about Umbridge's new form of punishment.

"Very good, Argus," Umbridge said with a sickly triumphant smile, "You two are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

"You know what," Fred smiled, "I don't think we are."

The twins looked at each other, both openly beaming now, "George, I think we've outgrown out full-time education."

"Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself."

Alicia gasped quietly and grabbed Bianca's hand tightly. Bea was staring at the ground now, looking up just in time to see Fred wink at her and smile in reassurance.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?" Fred continued.

"Definitely," George said.

"Accio brooms!" They shouted together before most people had even realised what was going on.

In the little while it took for their broomsticks to arrive, Bianca made eye contact Fred and George and blew them a kiss.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred said casually as they mounted their brooms.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch."

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to ninety-three Diagon Alley," Fred announced, voice full of pride, "Our new premises!"

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who promise they're going to use them to get rid of this old bat," George continued, looking pointedly at Umbridge.

The school erupted in uproar as Fred and George rose high up into the air and flew off through the doors and away into the sunset. As soon as they had gone, Bianca ran down the stairs to set off the fireworks they'd planned to accompany their exit so that as Fred and George vanished into the distance, they left behind bursts of colour and joy. She watched sadly but proudly as their silhouettes vanished over the hills. She knew there were only flying a couple of miles for effect and then apparating from Hogsmeade where they'd placed all the products in a secret passageway for transportation.

Before she knew it, Angelina, Alicia and Lee were by her side and Bea was crying into Angie's shoulder. She felt ridiculous and childish, like a toddler when they were dropped off at daycare, but it was so strange to watch the two people she'd grown up with fly away and know that they weren't going to come back for her. But as well as feeling slightly lonely and upset, Bianca was overcome with pride. Fred and George had had their hearts set on opening a joke shop for years and not only had they done that, but they'd designed and produced all of their own products and left school in a way no one would forget.

Once she had recovered, Bianca moved to clear up the mess of the prank- besides, of course, the swamp in the corridor- but was stopped by Umbridge. There was no trace of a smile on her face at all, just a harsh scowl. Filch was by her side, practically bouncing with joy and holding the new approved forms for whipping. Bianca's heart sank. She'd been so fixed on making sure Fred and George got out the school alright, she hadn't even thought about being caught cleaning up for them or setting off the fireworks herself.

"Would you like to come with me, Miss Riddle?" Umbridge said, unable to control the anger in her voice.

"What for?" Bianca asked politely.

"Do not pretend you had no part in this," she indicated to the hall and then up to where the swamp was on the corridor, "I have witnesses who have informed me that you were with those wretched boys before they left and I saw you set off those fireworks myself!"

"I thought you'd be glad to see the back of them, miss," Bianca said.

"That is besides the point," Umbridge all but screeched, "You had a hand in this disruption and I will not stand for it. You are evil right to the core!"

"Oh yeah, that's me," Bianca retorted, "You-Know-Who's evil little daughter: best friend to the boy who lived and practically sister to the 'blood traitor' Weasley's."

"That is enough! You will come with me before you make this worse for yourself."

"No," Bianca said simply.

"I am headmistress here, and I am telling you to accompany Mr Filch to the dungeons for punishment!"

"I am a human and I have a right not to be tortured for something as small and harmless as setting off a firework."

"You do not set the rules in this school," she paused, "Girl!"

"And you don't set the laws in this country," Bianca said simply, "Troll."

"I have it approved!" Umbridge shouted, "Argus, show her the papers."

Filch stepped forward smugly and presented Bianca with the parchment.

"Now, let me see," Bianca pretended to look with interest at the paper. She could see Umbridge tapping her foot impatiently muttering about how she had permission from the minister himself.

"Well, it seems to be in order," Bianca decided, "I guess you've got me. Except," Bianca reached into her robes and pulled out her wand, "Incendio."

The parchment went up in flames before their eyes. Filch was so shocked he didn't even let go of the burning paper until it had singed his fingertips.

"Whoops," Bianca said with a small shrug. Umbridge looked ready to combust herself as she watched the ashes of her whipping approval fall gently to the ground.

"You will join me for detention," the professor spluttered, "Every morning and night until I get these forms replaced. I will see you at 7 tomorrow morning in my office."

Bianca bowed sarcastically and led her friends up to the common room.

"That was awesome!" Lee told her, grinning madly.

"Yeah, well no doubt there'll be reports in the prophet tomorrow about how I'm a dangerous arsonist, setting off fireworks and burning paper wherever I go," Bianca said, but she was also smiling, "There'll be stories of how I nearly killed the poor, defenceless, squib caretaker by burning him alive."

"And practically attacked the headmistress," Lee added, "Calling her a troll was amazing, by the way."

"Oh well," Bianca said, "As long as she doesn't expel me."

"She won't expel you," Angelina said, "Not until she's tortured you."

"Don't worry," Bianca said, "I can deal with detention."

"But Bea," Alicia said, "It's every morning and evening! You'll be working from 7 right up until first lesson and then from after dinner until late at night. You'll have no time for revision for exams, barely any sleep and your hands won't have time to heal before you're tearing them open again! She'll probably take as long as she possibly can getting that whipping thing reapproved just to drag it out longer for you!"

"Calm down," Bianca smiled, "I'll have time in the afternoons and any free lessons for homework and revision."

As it turned out, that was very far from the truth. She spent most of her time in detention, classes or sitting in the kitchen working and drinking coffee. Her hand constantly ached, but she also took every moment to taunt and make fun of Umbridge, using any products she had or Fred and George had left behind to further torture the woman. Her teachers were much more lenient with her but she still worked just as hard because she was desperate to do well in her exams. In fact, she was so busy constantly running around and working, she barely saw anyone and didn't have time to miss Fred and George.

A couple of weeks of no sleep and endless writing lines later, Bianca entered Umbridge's office for the second time that day. She could still see some small splatters of blood on the desk from that morning.

"I like the décor miss," Bianca said, indicating to the red stains, "But I think you chose the wrong shade of pink. It doesn't quite match the walls, or the carpet, or the tablecloth, or the seat upholstery, or the crockery, or literally anything else in this room."

"Sit down, Miss Riddle," Umbridge said, ignoring Bianca's sarcasm, "I thought we'd do something a bit different today." She waited as Bianca placed her bag on the floor and sat down, "Your exams are drawing nearer and I would hate for you to fail due to your commitments here with me."

"How considerate of you," Bianca said.

"So I have arranged for a little meeting to take place in order to sort out a little problem you caused a while ago."

Bianca's heart sank and Umbridge turned to the fireplace, just in time to see Cornelius Fudge's face appear in the flames.

"Good evening, minister," Umbridge said politely.

"Delores," Fudge said, "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, not at all!" Umbridge smiled falsely, "I was just hoping to go over something you signed for me a few weeks ago. I seem to have lost the papers, I just need to check that it was in fact approved."

"Yes, yes, I remember Weasley showing it to me the other day. Something about a punishment?"

Bianca's nose turned up at the mention of Percy, but remained silent, watching the exchange in horror.

"That's right, minister," Umbridge smiled, "You approved it?"

"Yes, I did," Fudge nodded curtly, "Is that all?"

"Yes, minister, thank you."

Bianca swallowed thickly and looked up at Umbridge who was smiling evilly, "Perhaps you could follow me down to the dungeons, Miss Riddle. Mr Filch is waiting for us."

Bianca's heart was racing as she followed the headmistress down several flights of stairs. All the students were in bed or in their common rooms, so the corridors were completely abandoned. There was silence aside from the clicking of Umbridge's heels and Bianca's rapid breathing. Finally, Umbridge opened the door to a room in the dungeons, much further down than Bea had ever been before. Filch was waiting for them excitedly, holding a long, vicious-looking whip. Bianca took a deep breath and entered the cold, damp room.

"You're doing him a favour," she said as she positioned herself where Umbridge directed her, facing a wall.

"What on earth do you mean, girl?"

"This is what Voldemort wants," Bianca said, "You do this now, and you're on his side."

"He is not back!"

"Who?"

"You-Know-Who!"

"No I don't, otherwise I wouldn't have asked," Bianca smirked.

"Enough of your games! Remove your shirt."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't want your uniform ruined. No one needs to know about this."

"What are you scared of? I thought you had permission."

"Younger students do not need to be terrified into behaving," Umbridge said, "It is not my fault you are above normal punishment."

Bianca glanced at her scarred hand, "You think slicing people's hands open is a normal punishment? You're mad!"

"Shirt. Off."

Bianca set her jaw and slowly unbuttoned her shirt so that she was wearing nothing but underwear on her top half and positioning herself so she was stubbornly facing the wall to protect her dignity from Filch. With a flick of Umbridge's wand, her hands were chained above her head, preventing her from running or moving too far.

"You may begin Argus," Umbridge said, "Let us teach this girl what happens to people who disobey the rules."

Bianca stood, determined not to show any pain as the torture began. Both fortunately and unfortunately, Bianca had experience in torture-like situations so was more than prepared for her whipping. It was slow and excruciating and Bianca could hear Umbridge squeaking in delight but she stood stock still, not even flinching. Blood was trickling down her back and soaking her skirt and every part of her body was screaming at her. Her knees threatened to give way so she locked them, preventing herself from falling.

"Stop for a second," Umbridge stepped towards her, "Do you see what happens now? To people who lie?"

"I haven't lied," Bianca said, jaw clenched.

Umbridge raised her hand and pressed down on one of the gashes on Bianca's bare back. Taken by surprise, Bianca winced in pain and gasped.

"Haven't you seen enough of my blood this year?"

"Oh, yes," Umbridge smiled, "I just need to be quite sure you know the consequences of what you're doing. Continue, Mr Filch."

Ten minutes and several more strikes later, had Bianca on her knees, leaning against the wall and whimpering. Umbridge knelt down beside her and whispered in her ear, "How much do you love those despicable twins now that you're taking their punishments for them?"

"You're the one that's despicable," Bianca said, "And when the entire wizarding world is under attack and you're being slowly killed by Death Eaters, perhaps then you'll regret this, and realise that instead of wasting everyone's time in a classroom, teaching us absolutely nothing, you could have been helping your community prepare properly for war. Maybe that time we would have had a chance at surviving this mess. Then and again, a frog wearing a pink bow would have been a better teacher," she stopped and looked Umbridge up and down, "Oh wait, a frog wearing a pink bow _was_ our teacher."

"Argus, put your whips away, unchain the girl and continue your patrols. You," she turned back to Bianca, "Will return to your common room. Do not get caught out of bed."

Once Bianca was left alone in the room, she curled up in a ball, trying to ease this scorching pain which seemed to have intensified now the torture had ended. She scrambled over to her robes and fumbled for her wand. She performed the few spells she could on herself but when she couldn't see the wounds, it was difficult. Deciding she'd ask the girls for help when she got back to the dorm, she cleaned up the blood, carefully put her shirt back on- just managing not to scream in pain- and pulled herself up off the ground. With immense difficulty, she stumbled through the corridors until she got to the passageway she needed to take a shortcut from the dungeons to near the Fat Lady's portrait.

When she finally fell into the common room, Angelina and Alicia got up from where they'd been waiting for her with Lee and helped her to the sofa.

"I can't sit down," Bianca mumbled, "I need it healed."

Angelina carefully took off Bianca's robe, gasping when she saw that blood had seeped right through her white shirt and stained it red.

"Oh, Merlin," Angelina said, "Ok, I need to take your shirt off, Bea. It's going to sting, I'm sorry."

Bianca shook her head, thankful there was no one else in the common room, "It's fine, just do it so I can tell you how to heal everything."

Angelina carefully peeled Bianca's uniform away from the series of cuts. The blood had started to clot, sticking the material to her back so Angie had to pull quite hard to remove it.

"Lee," Bianca gasped through the pain, "Get a bowl of warm water and a clean cloth. Alicia," she stopped and grunted slightly, "Bandages!"

Lee and Alicia vanished as Angie finally removed Bianca's shirt and lay her face down on the sofa, "Tell me what I need to do."

Bianca told Angie a few simple spells which wouldn't do much for healing or stopping the pain but would at least seal the gashes and prevent infections from getting in.

By the time, Lee got back with the equipment to clean her back, Bianca's eyes were closing- the exhaustion of the past few weeks catching up to her. She wished Fred and George were there with her, stroking her hair or cracking some jokes to lighten the mood. Instead, she was lying helplessly on the sofa, completely shirtless while her friends washed her back and she struggled to stay conscious.

"Hey," Angie said gently, stirring Bianca, "Come one, you need to tell us what to do, you're the healer. Stay with it."

Bea forced her eyes open, helping her friends through basic healing procedures until Lee accidentally passed straight over a particularly large, open wound with his cloth. Her back erupted in pain and she yelled out. Lee stuttered out a rushed apology, desperately trying to stop the fresh streams of blood, but in his panic, only making it worse. Bianca opened her mouth to tell him it was fine, but the sight of her own blood all over her friends sent waves of dizziness through her and she fainted.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Fred and George opened the door to their flat and stepped inside. They beamed at each other, hearts still racing as adrenaline pumped through them. Everything had gone exactly to plan. Seeing as it was early evening, they didn't have time to do anything but fetch the products from Hogsmeade, shove them in the storage floor and set up their rooms for the night.

"George," Fred shouted suddenly, looking up from making his bed.

George walked through their adjoining bathroom to find his twin wrestling a duvet cover. Fred's entire body minus one leg was encased in the sheets as he thrashed about.

"Struggling?" George asked, laughing.

"No," Fred said adamantly, "But I just had a thought."

"Oh yeah?" George leaned against the door frame, watching Fred fight the covers.

"Well, it's nearly dinner time," Fred shouted through the fabric, "And we can no longer pop down to the kitchens whenever we're hungry. There's also nothing in the flat to eat."

"Come out of your duvet for a second," George told him with a smirk and then proceeded to wait a few minutes while Fred actually navigated his way back out of the sheets. He waved his wand and within a couple of seconds, Fred's bed was fully made.

"That's no fun," Fred said, catching his breath, "But more importantly, food."

"We could always steal some from home? Just wait until late, go to the Burrow, grab something and leave."

"We really didn't think this through," Fred sighed, "We'll have to go shopping tomorrow. We can go out to Muggle London and find one of those greatmarkets! No, erm, excellentmarkets. What are they called? Marvelousmarkets? Fantasticmarkets? Awesomemarkets?"

"Supermarkets?" George suggested.

"Yes! That's it! Supermarkets! We'll go to a supermarket!"

George looked up excitedly, "We'll go to the bank in the morning and exchange some money. We've got plenty from the sales at school and go and buy some essentials."

"There's enough from Harry to get the shop up and running and then we can use what we've earned so far for living," Fred decided, "That'll work."

"What about tonight?"

"Let's go and see mum," Fred suggested, "We need to tell her what's happened."

"She'll be upset," George warned, but nevertheless, the boys apparated to the Burrow.

Surprisingly, Mrs Weasley wasn't as annoyed as they had imagined they'd be. Her main concern was that they'd left Bianca. Even if she did disagree with their future plans, she was their mother and did want to support them in what they did. After a quick telling off and a stuttered explanation, Mrs Weasley ushered them to the table and piled food onto some plates for them.

"Now, I don't think this was your best idea," Mrs Weasley rambled, "But you've explained the consequences and I understand why you left. If either of you need anything, you will come here immediately and ask so I can help." The twins smiled as their mother rushed around the kitchen, packing them bags of basic food supplies and also other necessities from around the house. "I don't know where you got the money, or the ideas, but I'm glad you're not wasting your efforts and intelligence on something you hate. You also didn't hear me say that."

Fred and George smiled at each other.

"But I will never forgive you for leaving Bianca at Hogwarts with that horrible woman," Mrs Weasley continues, "Do you have beds set up in your flat for tonight?"

"Yes, mum. We have everything for tonight and we're going shopping tomorrow," George said.

"I'll come and help you move in," Mrs Weasley decided, "I'll come over just after mid-day. Make sure everything is alright."

"Mum," Fred interrupted, "I really don't think we'll be needing a potato peeler before tomorrow afternoon."

Mrs Weasley stopped mid-action, looking at the instrument in her hand, "I suppose not. I just want to make sure you have everything."

"We just need some food, toothbrushes, things like that," George said, "You can bring anything else tomorrow."

Fred and George stayed with their mother for a few hours, telling her about everything that had happened at school so far. Mrs Weasley was horrified when she saw their scars from detention and nearly smiled when they told her how much trouble they caused Umbridge. When the twins did get back to the flat, there was an owl sitting at the window with a letter.

"It's from Lee," George said, opening the letter, "Oh, Merlin." He burst into laughter.

"What is it? What happened?" Fred asked curiously.

"Bianca completely sassed Umbridge when we left," George said, scanning the letter, "She stood up to her, called her a troll and burnt the whipping approval form while Filch was still holding it."

"She didn't!"

"Yup," George's smile fell slightly, "But apparently she's got detention twice a day until Umbridge gets the forms reapproved."

"Oh," Fred's heart sank, "George, why didn't we think about that? We should have realised that Bianca would take the punishment for us. Umbridge has been making her do that all year. And we left her there without helping her."

"She'll be fine, Fred," George said. The twins sat on the floor- they didn't have any chairs yet- leaning against the wall.

"It's weird without her," Fred said, "We've never lived alone before. She'd have realised we didn't have any food, she'd help us sort the flat."

"But we can do it!" George said, "As long as we don't decorate the flat without her."

The next few days were spent in the lowest floor of the building, colouring all the walls brightly, setting up shelves and signs and decorating their little office. Once the shop floor was decorated, they use the mass of products they already had to start stocking shelves and then placed what was left in the storage section. They spent endless days working, inventing and making products and before they knew it, all the shelves were fit to bursting downstairs- all safely concealed from the public eye by blinds which let light in but not out- and their storage floor was packed. Mrs Weasley came over regularly to help them with their rooms and their joint bathroom but she wasn't allowed to touch anything else. Fred and George had even stopped her choosing sofas just in case Bianca wouldn't like them. Instead, they chose to sit on cardboard boxes which Mrs Weasley had bought all their old things from the Burrow over in. She was also not allowed to see the shop or anything outside the flat, including the outside of the shop which they were working on under strong disillusionment charms so no one would see their work. The twins wanted their unveiling to be a complete surprise to everyone so concealed everything they did.

In the small amounts of time they didn't spend working on their shop, the twins explored Muggle London. Everything about walking down the highstreets and trying to figure out what all the strange contraptions did was fascinating to them. They loved the strange moving pictures and the things labelled 'electronics'. They never bought anything so they could save their money for things they actually needed, but also enjoyed looking at all the peculiar Muggle foods in shops. They'd never seen Mrs Weasley bring anything like it home for cooking. Every so often they came across meals which were already prepared and only needed reheating in what was called a microwave. Naturally they then took it as their personal mission to discover exactly what a microwave was so spent hours going into stores and asking what they hoped were normal questions to shop assistants.

"I think they're like tiny ovens," Fred said, carefully studying one of the objects.

"But they're so fast!" George said, "How can it cook something in only thirty seconds without magic?"

"Maybe it was invented by wizards but they came up with some fancy-sounding science and a confundus charm to fool the Muggles so they could make more money."

Fred and George were obsessed with Muggle London. They loved everything from the coffee shops and their extensive menus of exotic drinks, to the strange buildings called cinemas with their extremely long moving photos and even the clothes shops full of strange outfits. They loved the screens in the Muggle pubs showed videos of tiny men running around kicking a strange ball and were desperate to know where the music in the shops came from. Each week, they allowed themselves to buy one thing from the Muggle shops to try and investigate. Sometimes, they bought back a packet of sweets, other days it was a clothing item or accessory. Once they started earning money, they wanted to buy the oh so sought-after microwave and a radio which apparently played different music as well as telling them the news and weather forecast. It was nothing like the radio they had at home, which usually only played Celestina Warbeck when Mrs Weasley was anywhere nearby. The Muggle version was much sleeker and modern. Mr Hartman had showed them the things called sockets in the walls which supplied electricity to appliances. So far Fred and George used these for a toaster and a kettle for their breakfast, but they were waiting for the day when they could plug in their new microwave.

The boys adored their new flat and their shop and regularly sent letters to Bianca at Hogwarts to update her on what they were doing and she would reply, telling them about how she and Lee were pranking Umbridge. That was until one morning when it wasn't Bianca who replied, but Lee. Fred had been happily munching on some toast when the owl arrived at the kitchen window. His heart has skipped at the thought of a letter from Bea and he called George through from his bedroom. When he looked down at the envelope, however, and saw Lee's handwriting instead, he frowned a little.

"It's from Lee," Fred said to his twin who was trudging into the room, yawning.

"What does it say?"

"Oh, Merlin," Fred's face blanched, "No, no, no."

"What is it?" George demanded, still half asleep.

"Remember when Lee said Bea had detention until Umbridge had the whipping order reapproved?"

"She didn't."

"She did," Fred said sadly, "Apparently Bianca got back to the common room after detention with her back completely sliced open. She had to tell Angie and Alicia how to heal the gashes but because they aren't as trained as her, there wasn't much they could do. There's still cuts all over her that open and start bleeding whenever she moves."

"Why didn't she go to Madam Pomfrey?" George demanded.

"Doesn't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction," Fred said, "She's written a note at the bottom here."

"Oh, yeah?"

"She says that she's fine and she's not going to let Umbridge get away with hurting her. Her and Lee are plotting something big to get her back. She says not to worry and that we better not have done anything to her room because she'll be cross if we have."

"She doesn't want us to worry. She's playing it off as being fine," George smiled, "I can't believe Umbridge did this."

"It's not long now until she'll be here again with us," Fred said, trying to cheer both himself and his brother up, "Maybe we should send her back some of those Muggle sweets we bought to cheer her up."

"She wouldn't eat them," George sighed, "Bea thinks everything we give her is a prank."

"Let's write back to Lee and Bianca. Lee will be honest and tell us exactly how bad it is and Bea needs her spirits lifting."

So George wrote to Lee, demanding to know how much pain Bianca was in, how deep the wounds were, how many cuts there were- all the over-protective, older brother type things he and Fred were concerned about. Meanwhile, Fred wrote to Bea herself, reassuring her that the only rooms they'd touched in the flat were his and George's bedrooms and that they wouldn't dream of doing anything without her. He composed a light-hearted, funny letter in the hopes of making her feel better.

Together, they headed down to the post office and sent the letters with separate owls.

"Well now that's done," George clapped his hands together, "What say we go and have a look around London, old chap?"

"Spiffing idea," Fred said, grinning.

After stopping off at Gringotts to get some Muggle money, they slipped through the Leaky Cauldron and out into London.

"Where to today?"

"How about that market?" George suggested.

The twins spent a few hours at a local market, testing all sorts of foreign foods, some of which they loved and others which went straight in the bin after one taste. They loved the spicy foods and sweet treats and couldn't wait for summer when they could show all of their new discoveries to Bianca. The twins walked through a park where they spotted a group of boys playing the game they'd seen on the screens in the pubs.

"George, look," Fred said, "They're playing football!"

The boys watched for a few minutes from a bench until a badly aimed kick sent the ball flying towards them. With lightning reflexes developed from their quidditch training, George reached up and caught the ball. Then, as he'd seen the people do on the small screens, he stood up, dropped the ball and kicked it back towards the boys who shouted their thanks and returned to their game.

"Good kick, Georgie," Fred grinned.

"I don't understand that game," George said as he sat back down, "How do you win?"

"You're meant to kick the ball into the net right? Like putting a quaffle through the hoops?" Fred said.

"But when does it end?" George said, "There aren't any seekers."

"Maybe it's the first team to a certain score," Fred suggested.

"But we've seen some games end on 4-0 and some games end on 2-1," George scratched his head, "Sometimes it's a draw. When do they know when to stop?"

"It must be timed," Fred said, "What are they doing?" He pointed to another group of kids who were playing a game that looked a bit like Quidditch but without brooms. They were bouncing large balls as they ran around courts and every so often one would jump up and try to get it through a hoop.

"I've not seen that on a wellytision."

"I think it's called a television," George laughed.

"These Muggles have a lot of sports," Fred said as they headed back to Diagon Alley.

The returned to find two letters on their kitchen bench.

"Lee says he doesn't think Bea's doing too well," George said sadly, "She hasn't been sleeping because of detentions and homework and she missed meals to catch up. He thinks now that her detentions are done with, she'll start getting better though. The girls are going to make her stop working so late. He also said that she can't really move without her back hurting but she's passing it off as nothing. Angie's keeping an eye on her."

"We should be there," Fred said.

"No," George looked up from the letter, "Bea wanted us to go. She'd be upset if we went back."

"If we hadn't left in the first place, this wouldn't be an issue."

"No, but that's not out fault. Fred this is our dream. It's coming true right before our very eyes. Staying at school wouldn't have helped us."

"Wasn't it selfish to leave her there?"

George shook his head, "No. You know she loves what we do."

 **"** I miss her," Fred said.

"So do I," George sighed, "What does her letter say?"

"That if we wanted to know how she was we could have asked her and not Lee," Fred laughed.

"Of course it did," George smiled.

"George," Fred said slowly, "I had an idea, and it's kind of ridiculous and Bianca might kill us but she might also love it."

"What is it?" George said, sitting up on the kitchen bench.

"I want to decorate her room," Fred said. George opened her mouth to interrupt him but he continued, "No, hear me out. We did our rooms, and they look really good, and we know her better than anyone else does so I thought it would be really sweet if we did hers and really tried and put loads of thought into it. But then if she doesn't like it, she can change it, but we could really show her how much we care, especially with everything that's happening to her."

George picked up the nearest item- an empty sandwich packet- and threw it off his brother's head, "Stop being sappy," he laughed, "I think it's a great idea."

"Really?"

"Yeah! I mean I'm getting bored, we've set everything up for the shop and we still have time before school finishes. We promised Bea would be the first person to see the shop so we need something to keep us busy."

"We'll take our time on it," Fred grinned excitedly, "Make sure she'll really love it."

The twins got to work immediately, putting more effort into it than they had into either of their rooms. Every decision was thought over thoroughly before they came to a conclusion and when they went shopping, the twins took their time, looking at every option before making a purchase.

Several weeks later, when they were completely happy with their work, all they could do was wait in anticipation for when Bianca could see it for herself.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

When Bianca woke up the morning after her detention with Umbridge, she wasn't lying in the common room, but in her bed upstairs. Angelina and Alicia were sitting by her side, talking quietly.

"Don't move," Angelina said tiredly. They both looked like they hadn't slept all night.

"What happened?" Bianca asked quietly.

"You fainted," Alicia smiled.

"Wow," Bianca smiled, "Some healer I'll make."

"You were hurt!" Angie protested, "And you're infinitely better than Lee. The more he tried to help, the worse he made it. He nearly killed you trying to save you. There was blood all over the common room so we left him to clean it all up while we took you up here."

"It was scary," Alicia said, "You were so pale and we couldn't wake you up. Angie managed to stop the bleeding using the spells you told her and then we got Katie and Ginny to come and help."

"What?"

"Don't worry," Angie smiled, "We made them promise not to tell anyone what happened. They were much more helpful than we were. It's not as good as Madam Pomfrey could do, but I don't think you're going to bleed out, so…"

"Thank you for helping me," Bianca said, she tried to sit up, but it was as if she was being ripped open all over again. As soon as she tried to push herself up, her arms gave way and she flopped back onto her chest. "Ow."

"Yeah, don't do that," Alicia said, "We're not the best healers in the world."

"You did fine," Bianca smiled, "I appreciate it."

When Ginny and Katie popped their heads in a few seconds later to see how Bianca was, Bea was instructing her friends on how to change the bandages on her back.

"In the box under my bed," Bianca said to Katie, "There are some potions and salves, could you grab one for me?"

"Which one?" Katie asked, crawling under the bed to retrieve the box.

"The salve in the tub with the blue lid."

"Not the pain relief potion?"

"It's too strong," Bianca said, "I'll be asleep for the rest of the day. It'd be better if I took that tonight instead."

"What'll the salve do?" Angie asked as she carefully dabbed some of the thick, blue salve on Bea's back.

"Seal the wounds to stop them from opening every time I move."

Ginny sat on the edge of the bed, "Lee's writing a letter to Fred and George to tell them what happened."

"What? No!" Bianca tried to sit up again, this time nearly succeeding before she fell and landed painfully on her back, screaming out in pain.

Angelina helped her up into a sitting position so she wasn't in any pain and re-wrapped her bandages.

"Don't let him send it without showing me first," Bianca gasped in between heavy breaths, "I don't want them to worry."

"I'll go tell him," Katie stood up quickly and the girls all smirked at her.

"Don't get distracted!" Alicia called cheekily after her. Katie winked and closed the door.

"Thank Merlin it's the weekend," Angelina said, "There's no way you could go through lessons today like this."

"It's stupid," Bianca said, "We have magic and we can't even heal a few cuts."

"Madam Pomfrey would be able to," Ginny said, "Why don't we go see her?"

"Because I'm fine," Bianca said, "We don't need Madam Pomfrey."

"You're sitting in your bra on your bed and you can't move without screaming," Angelina said, "I somehow don't think you'd be able to walk around all day in your uniform with a bag."

"You're the one complaining," Bianca said, "Not me."

Katie burst into the room slightly out of breath and laughing. The girls raised an eyebrow at her.

"I stole the letter," Katie explained, "Lee was going to send it so I took it off him and he tried to chase me back up here but then the stairs turned into a slide and he couldn't get up. He fell down the whole set and is just lying on the floor in the common room crying like a baby."

"Pass me the letter," Bianca said, "I want to see what he wrote," she read over what Lee had written, "He made it seem like I'm dying!"

"He hasn't seen you since last night," Alicia said, "And you did look really bad when you got into the common room."

Bianca quickly scribbled a note on the bottom and gave it back to Katie so Lee could send it. The girls helped her get changed which turned into a very long and painful process and then they headed down for breakfast. Even the smallest movements were extremely difficult especially now there was a shirt rubbing against the gashes. A few people looked at her questionably when they got into the hall but Bianca couldn't blame them. She probably looked awful and she could barely even sit down. Ginny and Katie both left to sit with their friends from their own respective year groups to take attention away from Bea.

"I still can't believe Umbridge did this," Angelina said angrily, "It's got to be illegal!"

"Don't worry," Bianca said, "I have plans for her. Once I can move without feeling like my back is on fire, she's in for a right treat."

A distinct click of heels sounded from behind Bianca and she didn't need to turn to see who was standing there.

"Good morning, professor. How are you?"

"Good morning, Miss Riddle," Umbridge's voice was as sickly sweet as usual, "I wonder if I might have a word?"

"Of course, Professor. Which word would you like? If you're asking for advice, I would recommend 'leave' because that's what I would like you to do right now."

"Well now I'm more tempted to say 'detention'," Umbridge huffed.

"But you won't because it would look oh-so-awful for you if I were to fail your class because I was in detention, and Merlin forbid you get a bad reputation."

"You will tell no one of your detention last night," Umbridge said sharply.

"Really? I thought you'd have loved everyone to know you go around whipping students as punishment," Bianca snapped back.

"You tell anyone and you will be given so many detentions, there will be no skin left on your back, girl."

"You try to give me one more detention and I'll prank you so much that you'll be scared to even leave your office."

"There's a cell in Azkaban with your name on it, girl. You're just like your father."

"And what will you have me arrested for?" Bianca asked, "Existing? I hate to tell you professor, but I didn't ask to be conceived."

"Perhaps it would have been better if you hadn't been."

"Is that what your parents say to you, professor?"

"Why you-" Umbridge seethed, "I will give you detention until you-"

"Ah, be careful," Bianca got up and somehow managed not to wince, "You don't want my grades to fall."

Bianca left the hall, her friends following behind her, laughing. They spent the rest of the day in the common room working on revision or homework. Bianca had to lie on her front to avoid irritating her back. When the evening came, she took one of her pain potions to help her sleep through the night. Getting through the weekend was easy enough. She didn't wear anything even remotely itchy, didn't sit on any chairs with a back and used very limited movement. School days were more difficult. With the layers of uniform and added school bag as well as the lack of ability to heal the wounds properly, she was forced through hours of torture. Umbridge enjoyed making her stand up to do as many tasks as she possibly could throughout the lesson, only to have her sit down and then immediately stand back up to do something else.

In the weeks leading up to the N.E.W.T. exams, Bianca only managed to avoid more detentions by constantly reminding the headteacher that she couldn't be responsible for letting Bea's grades fall. She was constantly cheeky or behaved badly in Umbridge's lessons just to wind the woman up but always managed to worm her way out of detention.

What seemed like only days later, the seventh and fifth years were getting ready to sit their first exam. Bianca and her friends were feeling very confident and she'd received a good luck message from Fred and George in the form of a small fireworks display which had gone off in the Great Hall at breakfast and nearly ended them all up with detentions.

The exams seemed to last eternally, but the feeling when they'd finished was exceptional. The seventh years spent hours wandering around the grounds, soaking in everything that they'd never be able to see again after that year. One particular day, Bianca was strolling in the shallow parts of the forest when she came across Harry, Ron and Hermione with Ginny, Luna and Neville. It looked as though they were trying to climb onto something but Bianca couldn't see anything there.

"What are you all doing?" she asked them.

"Bianca!" Ginny cried in surprise. Harry sighed impatiently and turned to her.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Harry said irritably, "We're celebrating exams being over. Can we go now?"

"Luna and Ginny didn't even have exams," Bianca said, "Go where?"

"Your dad's taken Sirius prisoner at the Ministry," Ron snapped, "Harry saw it in a vision so now we're going to save him."

"Let me come," Bianca said.

"No," Harry said immediately.

"If you're right and you'll be fighting Voldemort, you'll need all the people you can get," Bianca said, "Besides, I will actually be able to help. Maybe if I'm there, I'll be able to distract You-Know-Who enough so you can get Sirius."

"It's too dangerous," Harry said.

"I'm not letting Ginny and Ron go if I'm not," Bianca said stubbornly.

"Lucky there's a spare thestral," Luna said dreamily.

"A spare what?"

"Doesn't matter, you're not coming," Harry snapped, "Let's go, everyone."

Bianca turned on Luna, "What and where is a thestral?"

Harry slapped a hand to his forehead in frustration, "Luna, help her get on and explain on the way. But hurry up."

Bianca's mind was swirling with questions and the Ravenclaw girl helped her clamber onto some invisible, horse-like thing and they were all suddenly up in the air flying. Luna took the entire journey explaining to Bianca what a thestral was and what they looked like but Bea was extremely distracted by the most peculiar sensation of floating amongst the clouds, feeling firmly seated, but seeing nothing underneath her. She was so distracted, the reason for their adventure hadn't really sunk in yet. If Harry was right, then she'd soon be facing her father once again. In her heart, Bianca had never accepted Tom Riddle as her dad- that place was already taken by Mr Weasley. In her brain, however, she constantly reminded herself that she was the daughter of the most evil and hated man in the wizarding world.

Bianca trailed behind everyone else as they made their way through the ministry. She followed them into the department of mysteries and half-heartedly looked around the rooms. Admittedly she was slightly disturbed by the brains and the archway but remained silent throughout the whole ordeal. Bea was very unnerved by the whole situation and terrified about potentially meeting her father again and was starting to regret coming along. As much as she stood by her choice to protect Ron and Ginny, as they delved deeper into the ministry, she thought more and more about how dangerous it was. Harry didn't even know if his vision was real but now all seven of them were exploring somewhere which was potentially treacherous. Ever since the tournament last year, she'd seen Harry as like a brother because they'd become so close but she did think he'd been slightly impulsive now.

Despite this, part of her was slightly disappointed when Sirius wasn't there when they arrived at the location of Harry's visit. There was a horrible feeling in her stomach as she stepped closer to her friends and looked around, holding her wand out.

Bianca's heart raced as they were surrounded by Death Eaters. By some miracle she was left with her back to Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange so they couldn't see her clearly enough to realise who she was. Thankfully the Death Eater she was facing had no desire to announce her presence. Before she knew it, they were running through the department of mysteries and dodging spells. Bianca followed closely behind Harry, Hermione and Neville, but her heart sank when they found themselves separated from the others.

"What do we do?" Hermione's voice shook almost as vigorously as her trembling figure.

"Well, not stand by the door for a start," Harry said.

The four scurried underneath some tables just in time to avoid being seen as the door burst open and Death Eaters filed in. Hermione and Bianca shared a shocked look from underneath one desk and grasped for their wands. Bea was just helping Hermione to her feet so that they could defend themselves properly when she heard the unmistakable beginning of the killing curse from behind her. Panicking, she turned to see Harry dive and knock the Death Eater aside, preventing him from firing the curse.

Death Eaters seemed to be coming from everywhere. One strong spell knocked all four students off their feet. Neville disappeared from view after a particularly impressive flip over a table. Hermione was all but crushed under a bookshelf and Harry smacked his head off the hard, stone wall. Bianca tumbled over backwards and rolled across the room. She picked herself up and looked around the room. Harry was duelling with a Death Eater and Hermione was standing, ready to cast a charm when a small purple flame danced across her chest and she fell to the floor.

"Let me see her," Bianca said, pushing Harry aside. She didn't have time to feel guilty about leaving Neville to fight for all of them because she was too busy inspecting her unconscious friend.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry asked worriedly.

"I don't know," Bianca said sheepishly, "I've seen, read or heard of anything like this. She's alive but I can't help when I don't know what's wrong."

Bea felt immensely guilty about not being able to do anything. This was the first time she'd been faced with something she couldn't fix since she'd started revising to be a healer after she'd graduated Hogwarts. She knelt on the floor, desperately wracking her brains for anything that might be able to help Hermione. She was so caught up in trying to think, she didn't notice the strong stunning spell coming right for her until she was flying across the room, colliding with the wall and crumpling to the floor.

She awoke to Harry peering over her worriedly.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Bianca groaned and sat up, "Fine," she replied, "Is everyone else alright?"

"Neville's got a broken nose and we still don't know what's wrong with Hermione. Everyone else is still missing."

"Neville, come here, I'll fix your nose," Bianca said kindly, getting to her feet and looking around for her wand. Once she'd cleaned Neville's face up, she turned to Harry, "What now?"

"You stay here with Hermione," he decided, "I'll keep going-"

"Harry," Bianca stopped him, "We're all coming with you."

"No," Harry said, shaking his head, "No, no, no. If Voldemort really is here and he sees you, he'll kill you without a second thought. This time I'm serious, Bea. Please stay here."

"Harry, that's the reason I came. So that it'd give you a chance. I'm here to help, not sit here, not knowing what's going on."

"I've got to find the others," Harry sighed.

"Well we're going to find them with you," Neville said, still sounding slightly like he had a cold from his previously broken nose.

"But Hermione-"

"We'll take her with us," Neville said easily, "I'll carry her- you're better at fighting them than I am."

Together they made their way back through the Department of Mysteries and into the rotating circular room. Bianca steadied Harry as he swayed slightly and quietly cast a few gentle healing charms on him to help keep his strength.

"Harry-" Ron burst through a door and grabbed hold of him, "There you are… ha ha ha… you look funny, Harry… you're all messed up…"

Suddenly he was on his knees and everyone was looking up at Ginny for an explanation but she was sinking down the wall, pain etched on her face. Bianca rushed over to her while Luna explained what happened. Bianca did her best to heal her younger sister and told her, "Best not put too much weight on it. Be careful."

Despite this warning, Ginny still tried to walk by herself until she toppled sideways and Luna grabbed her.

"I told you it's not healed properly," Bianca scolded, "Let Luna help you."

Harry was pushing Ron towards a randomly chosen door when three Death Eaters burst in from across the room.

"Go!" Bianca shouted. As the only one not indisposed or supporting someone else, she took it upon herself to turn to cover her friends while they rushed for safety. Only once everyone was in the room and Harry was closing the door did she stop duelling with her opponents and run to join them. They were too busy locking doors and defending themselves to be able to help Luna when she too was knocked across the room and left unconscious. Unfortunately, Ron's insanity and Ginny's lack of mobility soon meant that once again, Neville, Bianca and Harry were left fighting alone as their friends were all either knocked out or tangled in brain tentacles.

Harry charged across the room, leading all but one of the Death Eaters away from the others. Unfortunately for Bianca, Neville was busy desperately trying to untangle Ron to help her and she was now facing a furious looking Bellatrix Lestrange.

"You," Bellatrix spat.

"Hello," Bianca said cheerfully.

"Do you understand the problems you have caused the Dark Lord?" she raised her wand higher, threateningly.

"Me?" Bianca said innocently, "But I'm just a little girl!"

"A little girl with enough power to either destroy us," she took a step forward, "Or help us."

"Help you?" Bianca scoffed, "Why would I help you? Voldemort killed my mother and tried to kill me too! He's sick."

"Your mother was on our side," Bellatrix taunted, "If you care so much about her, why aren't you?"

"You're evil, twisted murderers. I'm not like that. I'd rather die than help you."

In a couple of seamless swift motions, Bellatrix had disarmed Bianca and trapped her in a tight grip with one hand clasped tightly around her throat. "So be it," Bellatrix sneered, "Now you behave like a good little girl until we have that prophecy and then," she stopped and smirked, "We'll take you to see daddy. Imperio."

Bianca's eyes which had started to droop as she suffered from lack of oxygen, snapped open. Her brain went hazy and she found herself completely unable to do anything for herself. The only logical way to go was to follow the voice which rang in her ears. She walked across the room to the door Harry had passed through a few moments ago. She clambered down the stairs and stood at the base. _'Raise your wand,'_ the voice said, ' _Point it at the boy.'_ Bianca positioned herself in front of Neville, wand raised menacingly.

"Let's see how long Longbottom lasts before he cracks like his parents … unless Potter wants to give him the prophecy," Bianca heard the words, but it was as though it was coming through a wall of water. And then, that oh so helpful voice inside her head was telling her to torture the boy. Her lips formed the shape of the words but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Why should she attack this poor defenceless boy? And then commenced the internal battle between the voice and herself. Attack, no, attack, no. Her wand quivered in her hand and she moved to lower it but then that creepy woman was holding her it tightly, forcing her wand back up and the sound that came out of her mind matched the voice in her head perfectly.

"Do it, girl," the woman said, "Say it with me, now. Crucio!"

"No," Bianca mumbled, shaking her head slightly, dazed, "No."

"Imperio," Bellatrix said again and all sense was wiped from Bianca. Her face fell and her eyes held no emotion as she pointed at Neville. This time he fell to the ground, screaming and twitching. And when some strong sense urged her to stop, all she could do was stand there, still as a statue while chaos raged around her. To anyone else watching, it would have seemed as though she'd turned sides completely as suddenly, she was fighting side by side with Death Eaters. As one woman, she felt inside she should recognise, faced her, and they were deep in a vicious duel.

"Don't hurt her!" Harry shouted from across the room, not that Bianca heard this- she was too engulfed in the curse, "She's under the Imperius curse, Tonks, she can't help it!"

"Who cast it?" Tonks shouted urgently at Harry, sending harmless spells at Bianca to keep her occupied.

"Bellatrix!" Harry called from over by Neville.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Tonks bound Bianca so she was stuck, immobilised in the centre of the room and the young auror turned to fight Lestrange instead. As soon as the Death Eater was distracted, the Imperius curse on Bianca faded and she managed to shake herself out of the mind trap. She looked around, confused. As far as Bea was concerned the last thing she'd done was face Bellatrix while Neville helped Ron and Harry distracted the others. She had no idea how she'd got to the strange room with a creepy looking archway or how the Order of the Phoenix had arrived or even why she was incapable of moving. And that's exactly where she stayed, completely unable to move while the battle raged around her.

That was until Tonks was thrown backwards by Bellatrix and the spell broke, allowing Bianca to leap into action and sprint across the room just as Sirius did the same. The three were engrossed in a lethal, two against one, fight.

"I'd be careful if I were you, cousin," Sirius teased, "You don't want to cross paths with Bianca, she's deadly if you give her a pillow and a chocolate frog."

Bianca laughed and continued firing curses at Bellatrix until the spells all started getting a little too close for comfort.

"Bea," Sirius said seriously while ducking a jet of light, "Get away, let me take her."

"Not a chance," Bianca gritted her teeth and fought back harder.

Sirius shrugged and turned back to Bellatrix who was now grinning triumphantly, "Come on, you can do better than that!" He taunted as a red stunning spell soared over his head.

"Sirius-" Bianca warned him but she couldn't follow through as a second jet of slightly paler light hit him directly and he started to fall back. "No!"


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Fred and George were bored. It was nearly the end of term, meaning they hadn't seen Bianca for weeks, she'd stopped writing frequently because of her exams and they'd finished everything in the shop. Nothing needed doing in the flat and they'd even stopped going out into Muggle London frequently because they were short on money. The boys hadn't opened the store once it was ready because they were keeping their promise to Bea that she'd be the first one to see it. Unfortunately for them, that also meant what little money they earnt from owl orders at Hogwarts and the small bits of business they'd managed from the flat wasn't quite supporting them properly. All of the money Harry had given them was used solely on the shop because it felt wrong to use what they'd been given with the intention of them helping others, on themselves. A little bit of it had gone to redecorating Bianca's room, but the twins figured that Harry wouldn't really mind because it was, after all, for her, not them.

But after all the months of planning, decorating and inventing, Fred and George had hit a low. What was the point of creating new products if there was no one there to buy them? There were no empty spaces on the shelves to fill because no one had been in to buy anything. They were also too scared to go any further into the Muggle city alone and so what had been thrilling and captivating for a month or so was now boring. Traffic lights weren't interesting- they knew what they were for now. The Muggle appliances they'd bought home as treats didn't seem all too appealing now that they were part of everyday life. Even the array of foods in the shops wasn't that exciting anymore. They both knew that there were more delightful things to discover outside the boundaries of their known territory but they weren't too happy going there just yet.

That is exactly why they were both sitting on the floor in their bare, empty living room, throwing Muggle bouncy balls at each other with very little enthusiasm.

"Fred," George said, turning a pink ball between his fingers.

"Yes, brother dear?"

"I'm bored," George sighed. He threw the bouncy ball as hard as he could so that it hit off all the walls at least twice before landing in the kitchen sink.

"Well that was rude," Fred scolded him, "The bouncy ball didn't deserve that."

"It doesn't have feelings Fred, I'm sure it'll be fine," George got to his feet and made his way across the room to retrieve his ball.

"Imagine if they did," Fred said, stretching out on the floor and staring at the ceiling, "Just think if every time that little bouncy ball hit off the ground, it was internally screaming like it was being hit by a hundred cruciatus curses. You could have just killed it."

George studied the helpless pink sphere in the palm of his hand and tilted his head to the side in thought. After a couple of minutes he looked up at his brother solemnly, "Fred, you've lost it. Are you feeling alright?"

"But just imagine, George," Fred said, still lying on the floor, "If you look after it enough and don't throw it too hard, it comes and gives you a cuddle."

"Fred," George slapped his brother across the face, "It's an inanimate object. It doesn't have emotions."

"I know that, but just imagine if they weren't."

"Are you thinking about puffskeins?"

"Sort of, yeah," Fred considered this, "But without the freaky tongue and smaller, more willing to be cuddled."

"Ok, so you want miniature puffskeins with a normal tongue and cuddlier?"

Fred sat up excitedly, "Yeah! George, it would be so cool! We could breed them and look after them and sell them to people!"

"Fred, the last puffskein you tried to look after you ended up killing with a bludger!"

"But that was years ago! And it was only Ron's, I'd actually care about these ones!"

"Fred!" George sighed, putting his head in his hands. A few seconds later, he looked up, grinning, "That's a great idea! Come on, let's find a breeder!"

The boys ran down the stairs two at a time and jumped the last few until they were standing in front of the shop.

"George," Fred looked at his brother and smirked, "Did you bring the keys?"

George swore and sprinted back up the stairs to the flat to retrieve the office key and returned to his brother, completely winded. Fred laughed and opened the door and made his way through the shop and into their office. The twins couldn't help but smile every time they stepped foot in their shop. It was everything they'd ever imagined it to be and contained products they'd slaved over for years. It filled them with immense pride to look at what they'd done. But Fred didn't stop to admire their work now, He was scouring their bookshelves in the office for something which would tell them where the nearest puffskein breeder was. George came over, holding a book open to show Fred.

"This one looks like the closest, he provides for the menagerie on Diagon Alley. There are contact details, shall we send him an owl?"

Fred sat down at his desk in the office and grabbed a quill and ink pot. Quickly, he scribbled a letter which both twins signed before George copied down the details onto the envelope and crossed the room to where they kept their owls.

Once the letter had been sent, the twins locked up and returned to the flat. It wasn't until the next morning, when George awoke to owl droppings on his face, that they got a reply.

George had been happily enjoying a lie in, staying in bed as long as possible until something wet landed on his forehead and dripped down his cheek. He groaned, opened his eyes and looked around the room to see an owl perched on his headboard and a stream of white droppings on his pillow and tangled in his hair.

"Gross!" George jumped out of bed and stormed into his brother's room, "Fred!"

Fred was sitting up in bed, reading Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them for information on puffskeins.

"Fred, did you leave the window open?" George demanded angrily.

"Yeah, why?" Fred answered nonchalantly.

"Because instead of going down into the office where he is literally trained to go," George ranted, "Duke Owlington here, decided to come into my room and do his morning business on my head!"

Fred looked up and stifled a laugh, "It's not my fault you sleep with your bedroom door open."

"Maybe but you're the one who left the window open, practically inviting an owl in for breakfast."

"Did the Duke bring a reply?"

"What?"

"The owl, George, did he have a letter?"

"Oh," George ran back into his room and snatched the letter from Duke Owlington who was still perched happily on his bed before returning to Fred's room with one last glare for good measure at the owl.

"It says we can drop in any time today," George read to Fred, "He's usually not too busy throughout the week when school's on."

A few hours later, the twins were following the address of the man which was included in their letter. They were ushered into the house, handed butterbeers and shown into a cramped back room before they'd even introduced themselves.

"Over here is where I keep the best ones," the man, who also hadn't introduced himself, told them, "They're in perfect condition, well suited for families. You mentioned in your letter you were interested in breeding, yes? If you tell me which qualities you prefer, I can set you up with a few couples to help you along. This family have particularly nice, pure fur, these ones prefer to eat insects and bugs to keep your house clean and these ones over here have a really nice spherical shape."

"Actually," George interrupted, "We're more interested in the ones which aren't so 'perfect'."

"You're what? But why?"

"We want to breed a family of puffs which are cuter and friendlier to sell in our shop," Fred informed the man, "So we're looking for smaller ones with fur which isn't a pure, plain cream and preferably ones with smaller tongues."

The man looked astonished. His mouth opened and closed like a fish, but he managed to stutter out, "Of course, I'll show you them."

The poor animals were kept in a completely separate room, all looking sad and lonely, much unlike the happy, energetic ones next door. Fred and George shared an angry look and followed the man to their pen.

"This one had some sort of mutation meaning he was born with a tiny tongue," the man picked a puffskein up and handed it to Fred. Immediately, it scurried up his sleeve and hid in his shirt. Fred patted it reassuringly and looked at the rest. Half an hour later, the twins left the man's house with all of the discarded puffskeins and with a promise that he'd let them know if there were any more they could have. Almost all of the little animals had taken cover in one of the boys' jumpers.

"I can't believe he treats them like that!" George fumed as they re-entered their flat with their new pets, "Just because they aren't like the rest!"

"It's alright," Fred cooed, setting them down on the kitchen counter and allowing them to explore, "We'll look after them."

For the next few weeks, Fred and George focused on how they could breed the perfect 'pygmy puff'. They dedicated most of their time to playing with the puffskeins and looking after them properly.

It took a long time, but eventually, they had what they were looking for. A small, happy ball of colourful fluff that rolled around excitedly. Of course, they still looked after their original puffskeins and all their offsprings with as much love as they gave their pygmy puffs. There was an entire section in the shop dedicated just to them so even with the large amount they had, each one had plenty of space. After every meal, the boys went down to their pen, fed them leftovers and stayed for a few hours to play with them.

"Bianca's going to love these," Fred smiled one day nearing the end of term as they were sitting in the shop. George was stroking one of the puffskeins that they'd bought from the horrible breeder and feeding it some green beans while Fred checked on the mass of pygmy puffs.

"Just imagine her face," George grinned, "When she comes into the shop to find half a tonne of colourful fluffy things."

"She won't want us to sell them," Fred looked up only to have the poor animals he was previously petting clamber up his legs in protest, "She'll want to keep them all."

"Let's choose her one!" George said, "One that she can keep as a pet so it won't get sold!"

Fred's eyes lit up and the twins spent several hours admiring each pygmy puff and puffskein until they'd chosen the perfect one for Bianca. It was a pale purple colour and was very affectionate. It was one of the quieter pygmy puffs but loved cuddling whoever stepped foot in the pen. Together, the boys took it up to Bianca's newly decorated bedroom, set up a little pen for it in the corner which they made sure it was happy with before taking it back down for the few days until Bianca was actually there to look after it. The twins didn't want it getting lonely upstairs alone so had decided to keep it with the others for a few days. Not wanting to feel left out, they'd also both picked one each for themselves. Fred had a bright pink one and George a bright purple. The animals were permanently attached to the boys and provided constant entertainment for them and the twins were completely smitten.

As each day passed, Fred and George got gradually more and more excited for school to end so that they would be reunited with Bianca. That was, until one night when their father's face appeared in their fireplace while they were playing with their pygmy puffs.

"Boys, you need to come to Hogwarts," Mr Weasley said, "The Order has been called to the Ministry."

"What happened?" George asked.

"You-Know-Who put an image in Harry's mind to trick him into going to the ministry. He bought a group of friends with him, including Ron and Ginny. They were all in trouble with Umbridge but escaped to go and fight. Professor Snape alerted the Order as an emergency."

"What!"

"Are they ok?"

"I don't know, boys," Mr Weasley sighed, "Your mother and I are heading to Hogwarts, there's no point going to the Ministry now- it'll be too late."

"Thanks, dad," George said shakily, "We'll be there in a minute."

As soon as their father's image that vanished from the fireplace, Fred and George stepped into the fireplace and Flooed to Hogwarts to see find out what was going on.


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

 **"** **No!"**

 **Bianca dashed forward and pushed Sirius with all her force so instead of tumbling through the mysterious veil, he flopped to the ground. Bianca turned back to Bellatrix but she had screamed victoriously and was running across the room. Bea decided to let Kingsley deal with her and switched her attention back to Sirius. He looked dead, but, refusing to be discouraged, Bianca performed several checks on him and started healing. It was difficult with only her wand and no potions, but she did the best she could and eventually what had been a corpse-like figure was breathing shallowly and had a gentle pulse. Harry knelt down next to her frantically, looking hysterical. Lupin was close behind him, looking equally concerned but had more composure as he rested a hand on Harry's shoulder.**

 **"** **Bianca," Harry's voice quivered, "Is he-"**

 **Bianca shook her head, "Not yet. But I don't know what curse that was, he could still-" she paused, "I don't know if I've done enough."**

 **Harry looked heartbroken. To most people, it would seem as though Sirius was dead. His body showed no signs of life at all and his grey complexion did not look healthy.**

 **She continued working until a cry of pain grabbed her attention and her head whipped around to see Bellatrix bolting from the room. She and Harry were both on their feet in seconds, full of fury.**

 **"** **Harry-no!" Lupin called.**

 **"** **SHE KILLED HIM- I'LL KILL HER!" Harry shouted, clearly having lost any faith that Sirius would survive.**

 **Bianca was too caught up to correct him- she was to wrapped up in her own rage. This woman was evil and had literally used Bianca against her own people as a weapon. She'd controlled her mind and Bianca still didn't even know what damage she'd done when under the spell, but wasn't entirely sure she wanted to.**

 **Bellatrix led Harry and Bianca on a seemingly endless chase through the ministry until they ended up in the atrium. They hid behind some statues, breathing heavily and trying to form a plan silently.**

 **"** **Come out, come out, little Harry," Bellatrix taunted, "What did you come after me for, then? I thought you were going to avenge my dear cousin!"**

 **"** **I am!" Harry jumped up.**

 **"** **Harry, no!" Bianca yelled but he'd already gone.**

 **"** **Potter, I'm going to give you one chance. Give me the prophecy- roll it towards me now- and I may spare your lives."**

 **Bianca cursed. She'd hoped that possibly Bellatrix didn't know she was there, hiding and waiting, but clearly she did. Just as Bea was getting up to help Harry, the statue she was behind blew up, sending stone fragments everywhere. She screamed as bits of rubble scraped at her skin and tore apart her robes and she fumbled with her wand to try and protect herself from the blast.**

 **"** **Well, you're going to have to kill us, because it's gone," Harry shouted, "And he knows! Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it's gone! He's not going to be happy with you, is he?"**

 **"** **Liar!" Bellatrix screeched and the statue fragments which had still been swirling around Bianca fell to the floor, allowing her to run to Harry's side, "You've got it, Potter, and you will give it to me! Accio prophecy!"**

 **Harry laughed but when Bianca looked at him, his face was contorted in pain and he winced as he moved, "Nothing there! Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that!"**

 **"** **No!" Bellatrix screamed hysterically, "It isn't true, you're lying! Master, I tried, I tried- do not punish me!"**

 **Harry opened his mouth to respond but he looked so much in agony that Bianca put a hand on his arm and answered for him, "Don't waste your breath! He can't hear you from here!"**

 **"** **Can't I, daughter?"**

 **Bianca's jaw dropped and her heart sank. She tightened her grip on Harry's arm. None other than Lord Voldemort had materialised in the middle of the hall and was glaring at Harry, angrily.**

 **"** **So, you smashed my prophecy?" he hissed, "Months of preparation, months of effort … and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter and my stupid daughter thwart me again… I have nothing more to say to you, Potter. You have irked me too often, for too long. Avada Kedavra!"**

 **"** **No!" Bianca screamed and with an odd sense of de ja vu, she pushed Harry to the side, away from the curse. Unfortunately, that still wouldn't have been enough it is wasn't for a golden statue jumping alive and stepping in front of the spell. Albus Dumbledore had come to their rescue and was now mid-fight with Voldemort. Bianca pulled Harry to his feet and ushered him over to a corner.**

 **"** **Are you alright?" she asked him.**

 **He nodded distractedly, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine."**

 **She forced him to stay where they were while the battle raged next to them. Bianca held tightly onto Harry's shoulder, telling him it was too dangerous and that he had to stay with her. She was doing quite well until Harry doubled over in pain, screaming and writhing and clutching his forehead.**

 **"** **Harry! Harry, can you hear me?" Bianca lowered him to the ground and looked desperately at Dumbledore. She didn't notice that Voldemort had fled and had been replaced by a multitude of Ministry workers, led my Fudge himself.**

 **Finally, Harry opened his eyes, shaking violently.**

 **"** **Are you alright, Harry?" Dumbledore asked him urgently.**

 **"** **Yes," Harry stuttered, "Yeah, I'm- where's Voldemort, where- who're all these- what's-"**

 **Bianca helped him sit up and rubbed his back reassuringly while Dumbledore conversed with the minister.**

 **"** **I will explain everything, once Harry and Bianca are back at Hogwarts," the headmaster said calmly. Fudge looked furious at the presence of the two students, no doubt still under the impression that they were evil, compulsive liars, but Dumbledore ignored his pointed looks and comments and sent the tow back to Hogwarts with a portkey.**

 **As soon as they appeared in Dumbledore's office, both their knees buckled and they fell heavily to the floor. For a few minutes, both Harry and Bianca sat together in silence until the portraits around them started stirring.**

 **"** **Ah, Harry Potter," Bianca vaguely recognised the painting which looked oddly similar to one kept at Grimmauld Place. "And what brings you here in the early hours of the morning? This office is supposed to be barred to all but the rightful headmaster. Or has Dumbledore sent you here? Oh, don't tell me… Another message for my worthless great-great-grandson?"**

 **Bianca saw Harry falter and started gently, "Harry, he's-"**

 **"** **Don't, Bianca," her heart broke at how helpless he sounded, "Not even you can bring someone back from the dead."**

 **"** **He wasn't dead. Not when we left," Bianca told him gently, "I know it didn't look great, but-"**

 **"** **Didn't look great?" Harry snapped, "He was dying, Bianca. Bellatrix killed him and then," he faltered, "Then you-"**

 **They succumbed to silence once more, Bianca with her lips pursed. Harry blamed her. It was her fault Sirius could be dead, now, because she couldn't save him. When Dumbledore joined them a few minutes later, they didn't even look up until he addressed them properly.**

 **"** **Well," he said, "You will be pleased to hear that none of your fellow students are going to suffer lasting damage from the night's events. Madame Pomfrey is patching everybody up. Nymphadora Tonks may need to spend a little time in St Mungo's, but it seems that both she and Sirius Black will make a full recovery."**

 **Harry and Bianca's heads snapped up, "What?"**

 **Dumbledore smiled, "You heard me. Bianca's efforts might just have been enough to save Sirius. We'll have to see."**

 **"** **You mean, you don't know for sure?" Harry said, panic clear in his voice.**

 **"** **I'm afraid not, but I have every faith that he will pull through. It does not do well for us to think otherwise."**

 **"** **But he could die," Harry sighed dejectedly.**

 **"** **He could. But he might not," Dumbledore didn't seem to be making Harry feel any better, "He has a much better chance now than he did at the Ministry."**

 **"** **I don't care!" Harry suddenly yelled, getting to his feet and throwing a strange metal object across the room, "I've had enough, I've seen enough, I want out, I want it to end, I don't care anymore-"**

 **"** **You do care," Dumbledore said. Unlike Bianca, who was practically cowering in her seat, he had not flinched or moved to stop Harry from demolishing his office. "You care so much you feel as though you will bleed to death with the pain of it."**

 **Harry started to protest but Dumbledore continued, "Oh, yes, you do. You have lost your mother, your father and tonight you so nearly lost the closest thing to a parent you have ever known. Of course, you care."**

 **Harry turned angrily and stormed across the room to leave, but the door wouldn't open.**

 **"** **Let me out," Harry demanded, his voice breaking with emotion.**

 **"** **No," Dumbledore told him.**

 **"** **Let me out," Harry repeated like a stubborn toddler.**

 **Dumbledore, however, continued to refuse him, "By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many."**

 **Bianca watched their exchange silently. She continued to listen politely, feeling extremely out of place for a very long time while Dumbledore explained everything to Harry. The two were so deep in conversation, she almost felt like slipping away unnoticed, but Dumbledore must have wanted her here for something, otherwise he would have asked her to leave, so she sat there uncomfortably while Dumbledore apologised to Harry.**

 **Finally, what felt like days later, Dumbledore sent Harry to the hospital wing and turned to Bianca.**

 **"** **I apologise for keeping you waiting for so long," he began, "It has not escaped my notice that you are injured and tired, but I need to speak with you."**

 **Bianca nodded. Admittedly, she had forgotten that she was covered in grazes from the flying debris.**

 **"** **I did not expect to see you at the Ministry this evening," Dumbledore said, "Professor Snape didn't mention you were in Professor Umbridge's office."**

 **"** **I wasn't," Bianca admitted "I found everyone just as they were planning to leave. I couldn't let Ron and Ginny go alone, so I told Harry I might be able to help because if he was right and Voldemort really was there, I might have been able to distract him while he helped Sirius."**

 **"** **And in the end, it was you that saved Sirius."**

 **Bianca blushed, "I mean- I- so many people were injured tonight and I couldn't help them so really I was desperate."**

 **"** **It doesn't matter why you did it," Dumbledore told her, "The fact remains that you did and I'm sure once he has calmed down, Harry will be eternally grateful for this."**

 **She nodded and looked up, "Sir, when we were fighting, before the order arrived, Bellatrix Lestrange had me under the Imperius curse. I don't know what I did and I'm so scared I hurt someone. I couldn't fight it."**

 **"** **And now you think this makes you one of them?" Dumbledore assumed.**

 **Bianca didn't answer but her silence was answer enough.**

 **"** **Listen to me, Bianca," Dumbledore leaned forward seriously, "The Imperius curse is very dangerous and very powerful. I'm sure everyone you were with tonight knows that you would never hurt them intentionally and if you did, I have no doubt that you are already forgiven. It doesn't matter how many people make assumptions about your personality based on your parents, none of them affect the goodness in your heart.**

 **"** **I also regret to tell you that while Harry and I have been cleared by the Ministry and are no longer deemed to be dangerous liars, many people are still prejudiced against you. The Ministry believes that it is your fault Voldemort was there tonight and that you helped him get there. It upsets me greatly that you won't be here next year for me to protect but as you have been told by many people already, you are extremely powerful. It is no surprise that your father-"**

 **"** **He's not my father," Bianca interrupted.**

 **"** **My apologies. It is no surprise that Lord Voldemort wanted you by his side so badly."**

 **"** **And now he wants to kill me," Bianca sighed.**

 **"** **Unfortunately, yes. He feels very threatened by both you and Harry."**

 **"** **But I won't have anyone on my side because they all think I'm evil anyway."**

 **"** **On the contrary, only the ministry and those who side with it believe that. I think you'll find your friends here know very well that your loyalty lies with them and Lord Voldemort and his followers definitely know you aren't siding with them- you made sure of that tonight."**

 **"** **Sir, can I go to the Hospital now?" Bianca requested politely. She didn't feel particularly ill or tired currently but knew she would be soon and didn't want this conversation lasting any longer than it already had.**

 **"** **Of course. I just wanted to warn you that even though the ministry of magic is now aware of Voldemort's return, you are not in the clear just yet."**

 **"** **Thank you, sir," Bianca had to bite back the sarcasm. She didn't really appreciate being told that most of the wizarding world still hated her, especially after the night she'd had.**

 **"** **I shall accompany you to Madame Pomfrey, I need to see how everyone else is. Perhaps you could ask her to check that your back is healing properly, I'm sure she'd be more than happy."**

 **"** **How did you-"**

 **"** **Professor Snape voiced his concern to me after he saw you returning to your common room late one evening covered in blood. Needless to say, his worry only deepened when he noticed your discomfort in the days following. I simply put two and two together."**

 **Bianca didn't acknowledge that this was an awfully large conclusion to jump to, however correct it was, so chose to say instead, "I've already healed it, sir. My friends helped me. Besides, it was weeks ago."**

 **"** **It can never hurt to have it checked," Dumbledore told her, "I daresay it is difficult to see your own back."**

 **Bianca nodded and continued following Dumbledore to the hospital wing. With every step she seemed to be getting more and more tired as the events of the night caught up to her. Her body ached and now she was all too aware of the sticky blood on all of the cuts which littered her skin. For some unknown reason, none of these things had bothered her until now because she'd been too focused on everything else going on and how chaotic it all was. Now, however, when she wasn't running for her life, desperately healing people or deep in discussion about how everyone hated her, the only thing to do was think about what had happened. And it was exhausting.**

 **What she didn't know until she opened the door to the Hospital Wing and was attacked by two lanky gingers, was that all she'd needed all along, was a hug from Fred and George. It had been so many months since they'd even seen each other and all the tension of that time left her as she melted into their grip, grinning.**


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: I just quickly wanted to address this in terms of saving certain characters- I've been trying to keep as true to the actual books as I possibly can throughout this and I know obviously saving Sirius is not what happened in OotP. I won't be saving every character who dies in the original. There are two who now I've kept Sirius I think it would be unfair to kill and one who was obviously never going to die to begin with. I'm sorry to anyone who wanted this more accurate, it's just sort of how I wrote it- I don't like people being upset I guess.

Anyway, I hope everyone's enjoying the story! :D

Chapter 44

When Fred and George made it to the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts, the only people there were their parents, Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape.

"What's going on?" Fred demanded immediately.

"Mr Potter thought it would be intelligent to run off to the Ministry with a group of students because he has a foolish idea in his head that Black was being held hostage there," Snape said bitterly.

"How long ago did they leave?" Mrs Weasley said uneasily.

"Several hours," Snape drawled, "The rest of the Order has been there quite a while too. I expect it won't be long."

As if on cue, the doors opened again and a strange looking group of people entered. Mad-Eye Moody came first, supporting a slightly limping Ginny and being closely followed by Luna who was dragging Ron. Finally, Neville stumbled in, carrying Hermione.

"Oh my goodness!" Mrs Weasley gasped, looking at the students in concern.

Ron giggled and whispered loudly to Luna, "Those two look the same! They look silly!" while pointing at Fred and George. The twins raised their eyebrows and smirked.

"What on Earth happened?" Mr Weasley sat on the end of Ginny's bed while Madam Pomfrey buzzed around them.

"Ginny broke her ankle, Neville broke his nose, Hermione's unconscious and Ron got attacked by some brains," Luna said unhelpfully.

"Ron what?" George said with a chuckle.

"Where's Harry?" Mrs Weasley asked, looking worriedly at Ron who was still sniggering immaturely at Fred and George- ("They sound the same too!").

"He ran off with Bianca," Neville said.

"Bianca!" Fred and George looked up sharply, "Bianca was there?"

"Yeah, she found us as we were about to leave and said she couldn't let Ron and Ginny go without her. She wanted to come to protect them," Neville explained, "It's a good thing she came too. Her healing skills were really useful."

"Healing skills- Bianca- what?" Mrs Weasley spluttered.

While Luna and Neville explained what had gone on at the Ministry, Moody slipped away to help with the clear up and Madame Pomfrey gave Ron a potion to calm him down. Several minutes later, he was lying flat on his back, snoring loudly. When Neville and Luna had finished, everyone looked astonished. Mrs Weasley was visibly shaking and Fred and George looked terrified. The group sat in silence for a while until the doors opened once more and Harry slipped in.

"Harry," Neville said, "Are you alright?"

Harry nodded and looked around the room, "Sirius- is he-"

"Lupin took him to St Mungo's with Tonks. We haven't heard anything," Ginny told him.

Harry nodded again and allowed Madame Pomfrey to rush him over to a bed to be checked over.

"Where's Bianca?" George asked as gently as he could.

"With Dumbledore," Harry said simply. He didn't elaborate.

It was a nervous, silent few minutes until finally Bianca joined them with Dumbledore, looking exhausted and beat-up, but safe. Fred and George ran over immediately and wrapped her in a hug.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"We missed you," Fred said, "So much."

"I missed you too," Bianca smiled into George's shirt.

"Misters Weasley, perhaps you would allow Bianca to be seen by Madame Pomfrey now? She's had quite the night and her injuries need tending to," Dumbledore said politely.

The twins nodded and escorted Bianca to the nearest free bed. As soon as Madame Pomfrey had finished looking after Harry and he was sitting comfortably in his bed, she came over to Bea and started fussing over her instead. Bianca kept insisting that she was fine and that the healer should focus on some of her friends instead, but she was hushed quickly and forced to sit quietly.

Fred and George watched nervously, every so often looking over to Ron and Ginny, both of whom were now asleep to make sure they were alright too. Mrs Weasley seemed to have calmed down considerably now she knew all her children were safe together in one room, only to start flustering again once Dumbledore explained what had happened in the atrium to Harry and Bianca.

"You're seen as one of the most powerful witches in England," Fred smirked, "But you got beaten up by a statue?"

Bianca laughed. "What can I say? I'm talented like that."

Harry tensed at the mention of the Death Eater's name and Bianca looked across the room at her friends. Most of them were asleep, with only Neville and Harry still sitting up. "Harry," she started, "When I was under the Imperius curse," she ignored Fred and George's looks of horror, "Did I do anything? You know, anything bad?"

Harry looked at Neville and they shared an awkward, silent conversation.

"Yes," Harry said slowly, still looking at Neville, "You erm, you-"

"I'm not angry with you, Bianca," Neville said, "I know you didn't mean to, you would never-"

"Mean to do what?" Bianca sat up, heart racing, "Oh, Merlin, what did I do?"

"You tortured Neville," Harry said quietly.

"I what!" she shot to her feet, pushing away Madame Pomfrey, who was desperately trying to get her to rest.

"Bellatrix made you use the Cruciatus curse on Neville," Harry said sheepishly, as though it had been him, not her.

"Neville," Bianca made her way across the room to stand by his bed, "I am so sorry."

"It's ok," he told her sincerely, "I could see you didn't want to do it. The first time-"

"There were multiple times?!"

"The first time you tried," Neville corrected, "I could see in your eyes that you didn't want to. The spell didn't actually work until Bellatrix put you under again, with a stronger spell, this time."

"Neville, I-"

"You're sorry, I know," Neville smiled, "You're forgiven."

It was only then that Bianca allowed herself to be pulled back across the room and forced into bed again, still gaping at Neville in some strange, apologetic shock. Harry had rolled over in his bed, either sleeping or pretending to sleep- it was impossible to tell. Mr and Mrs Weasley were talking in hushed voices to Dumbledore while Madame Pomfrey checked on everyone again.

"How's the shop doing?" Bianca asked the twins, "Business booming?"

"It's not open yet," George said.

"See we made a promise to someone," Fred continued, "That they'd be the first one to see it."

Bianca looked up at them.

"And so we've kept it hidden for that special person," George said with a smile.

"No," Bianca said, "But that's months of business you could have lost!"

"Well we thought that once it is open, it'll do so well that we'll make up for what we lost anyway," Fred said, "And it wouldn't feel right to let loads of smelly kids in without letting you see it first."

"Don't worry though," George said, "We've had loads of owl orders from here. Apparently we made quite the impression."

"I thought I'd seen a lot of your products floating around," Bianca grinned.

"The orders have been giving us enough money to keep us alive. Nothing luxurious, of course, but we coped."

"And once the shop's open you'll be living like kings?" Bianca giggled.

"Of course!" George said, "We'll be rich within the hour!"

Bianca looked at the sceptically and was about to respond when Madame Pomfrey bustled over.

"If you aren't going to sleep yourself, at least be quiet so everyone else can," she said sharply, indicating to the other six students who were lying peacefully, breathing slowly.

"Sorry," Bianca said, embarrassed.

Mr and Mrs Weasley then came over to tell them that they were leaving too.

"We'll come with you," Fred said somewhat sadly.

The twins both leant down and kissed her on the cheek, "We'll see you in a week, yeah?"

Bianca nodded and sat up to give them both a hug.

"I promise next time you see us, it won't be for only half an hour," George laughed.

"It had better not be," Bianca scowled, "I'm going mad without you."

Fred dumped a load of chocolate frogs on the end of Ron's bed, "That might cheer him up," he said.

"If the shop's not open, how are you affording so many chocolate frogs?" Bianca demanded quietly, "And why don't I have any?"

George laughed, "Because you think chocolate frogs are weapons, remember? We don't want to end up in here with you."

Bianca stuck her tongue out at them and they blew her a kiss, "See you next week!" They vanished out the room.

Mrs Weasley chuckled, kissed Ginny and Ron on the head and picked up a chocolate frog. She came over to Bianca and handed it to her, "I'm very proud of you. Thank you for looking after them. All of them."

Bianca smiled to herself and lay back contentedly. Surprisingly, despite everything that was nagging at her, she fell asleep easily and didn't wake up until very late the next morning.

The week leading up to the end of term seemed to last eternally. Thankfully, Bianca wasn't confined to the Hospital Wing and had been allowed out the next morning. She regularly returned, however to visit her friends and check up on her siblings. Both she and Harry had looked up expectantly every morning in the hope of any news from St Mungo's. But while each day Bianca received a letter, it was always from Fred and George, asking after everyone and making sure she hadn't done anything stupid.

On the final day of school, when no owl came, the two shared a sad look.

"At least we know he's not, you know," Bianca said awkwardly, "They would have told us if he was."

"Would they?" Harry said irritably, "Lupin would have come up with some rubbish about not distracting us at school or not wanting to ruin your last week at Hogwarts or something."

"How about this," Bianca interrupted, ignoring his rudeness, "As soon as I've got off the train and dropped my stuff off at Fred and George's, I'll go straight to the hospital and find out for myself. You'll have an owl by tonight."

Harry looked at her gratefully, "I never thanked you for saving Sirius. I was so angry that he might not make it so I never appreciated that if it weren't for you, he'd definitely be dead. You gave him a chance."

Bianca smiled at him, "Let's just hope that he took that chance."

All in all, it was quite an emotional day for Bianca. From her chat with Harry in the morning, to the mass of goodbyes shared between the seventh years, to stepping off the train for one final time and running into the twins' arms, it was very overwhelming. She stood on the platform for a while with Fred, George, Lee, Angelina and Alicia.

"You'll have to all come and see the shop," George said excitedly.

"We're opening tomorrow," Fred told them with a grin.

"You aren't open yet?" Lee said incredulously, "Why not?"

"We promised Bea she'd be the first one to see it," Fred explained, "So once we've given her the tour today, we'll be free to open up."

"We'll drop in," Angie promised, "I bet it looks great."

The group gave each other one last huge hug and went their separate ways.

"Come on then, you," George said, "Ready to go?"

Bianca beamed at them, "You bet I am," she stopped, "But before I look around the shop and the flat, I promised Harry I'd go to St Mungo's and check on Sirius. Is it alright if I drop my bags off quickly and then go?"

The twins shared a look and nodded.

"I'll take the bags," George offered, "And then I'll meet you both at the hospital. There's no point in all of us going back and forward."

Fred tossed him the keys and apparated with Bianca right into the foyer of St Mungo's. Together, they waited a few minutes for George and then ventured to the front desk for directions. Bianca didn't stop to laugh at the array of curious injuries in the Hospital, walking quickly up the stairs to the correct ward where they found Remus Lupin, sitting on the floor dejectedly next to Tonks.

"Lupin?" Bianca said quietly, "What's going on?"

He looked up at her tiredly, "They won't let us in," he explained sadly.

"Why?"

"When I told them who he was, they decided he was dangerous and had to be isolated in case he woke up. He's still seen as a murderer, remember."

Bianca's heart sank and she stared at the floor sadly. Fred jumped at the awkward silence and took to opportunity to ask Tonks how she was. Before she could answer, however, Bianca cut in.

"Do you know how he is?"

Lupin shook his head, "They barely tell me anything. All I know is that he hasn't woken up yet but he isn't dead, obviously- thanks to you. When we first arrived, the healers told me that whatever you did saved him, otherwise he'd definitely not have made it."

"Lupin," Bianca sank down onto the floor next to him, "They won't send him back to Azkaban, will they?"

"I doubt it," Tonks replied for him, "The dementors have left. Anyone still in there would break out easily. I reckon the Ministry will deal with him."

Fred and George sat down too, but Bianca jumped to her feet and stomped over to the nearest healer station.

"Can I help you?" a man asked her kindly.

"I need to see Sirius Black," Bianca said rather rudely, "It's very important."

"I'm afraid we can't permit that. He's a very dangerous man, you could be hurt."

"Well isn't it a good thing I'm in a hospital," Bianca replied.

The man gaped at her, "I'm sorry, but no one except the healers are allowed in that room."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Bianca demanded angrily, "He's still unconscious, yes? And even if he wasn't, no doubt you've taken his wand and probably strapped him to the bed. I don't think he'll be hurting anyone, especially not the person who saved his life to begin with."

"You saved his life?" the man laughed, "I doubt it, you're too-"

"Young?" Bianca assumed, "I wasn't aware that you had to be a certain age to stop people you care about from dying. If you'd like I can tell you exactly how I did it, but somehow I don't think you'd care."

"But why?" the man asked in horror, "He's a murderer!"

"Don't be stupid," Bianca snapped, "He's never killed anyone."

"But- but-"

"Stop blubbering like a fish and listen," Bianca said, "We can stand here arguing all day if you'd like, but you have patients to tend to and I have someone I need to visit. I can promise you now I won't be leaving until you or one of your colleagues has opened that door and let us in."

The poor healer looked horrified, but slowly, he reached out and grabbed a bunch of keys and then walked slowly towards Sirius' room. Lupin, Tonks, Fred and George jumped to their feet.

"I take no responsibility if any of you get hurt," he warned them and opened the door.

The five thanked the man and rushed into the little room. Sirius himself looked much better than when Bianca had last seen him. His complexion was no longer grey or ashen and he was breathing properly now despite still being unconscious and, as Bianca had expected, being tied to the bed.

Lupin, however, sighed sadly, "He hasn't changed. They haven't done anything."

"What?"

"That's exactly what he looked like when I bought him here," he explained, "I'm afraid any improvements you see here were your doing, Bianca."

Bea studied the frail man's figure lying before her and then looked at the healing equipment and empty vials around the bed. She stepped forward and picked up his file, looking over it quickly.

"That's because the only thing they're doing here is keeping him knocked out until they can figure out what to do with him," she said, "Look at these," she picked up a couple of vials which had a few drops of potion in the bottom, "They're all identical! Surely if he were as gravely ill as they're making him out to be, they would be doing more than just feeding him one type of potion. And if you read this, it tells you everything. He stirred on his second day here and they have been giving him potions ever since to keep him asleep!"

Everyone looked at her in horror.

"You're joking," George said.

Bianca shook her head, "And according to this, he's due another dose in a few minutes."

"We can't let him take it," Tonks said urgently, "He'll be in here forever."

"Well, Bianca seems to have a way with that healer," Fred teased, "I'm sure she could do something."

Bianca nodded, wracking her brains to think of something, "I'll try."

When the healer, who happened to be the one who let them into the room, entered a few moments later, holding a vial of potion, identical to the rest which littered Sirius' room, he looked fearfully at Bianca.

"Good afternoon," she said with a sweet smile, "I apologise for my behaviour out there. I was just so worried about my friend here."

The healer gulped and nodded, "That's alright. How long will you be staying?"

"Oh, quite a while, I think," Lupin said immediately.

"If that's ok," Bianca glanced at him, "I mean, it doesn't seem like we're interrupting much. According to his files, you don't seem to be doing a lot to help him."

The man gaped at her again before regaining his composure, "Visitors aren't permitted to read patients files. They're strictly for healers."

"Oh, I just wanted to know what was wrong. But, correct me if I'm wrong- I'm not a healer yet- the only thing that seems to be wrong with this man, is the immense amount of sleeping potions he's taken."

"You want to be a healer?"

"Yes, I was hoping to apply while I was here. I think I have the skills, do you agree? It was me, after all, who saved Sirius the other week," Bianca hated being so full of herself and so vain, but she was trying to intimidate the man. She never thought of herself as a cocky person and she was uncomfortable acting as though she was. Thankfully, it seemed to work, as the healer just continued to gape.

"We'll just take that and give it to him, yeah?" Bianca strode over, plucked the glass out his hand and gently led the man to the door, "I'm sure you have other patients to tend to." She slammed the door shut and ran over to Sirius' bed before the man could recover his senses and come back in. She quickly hid the full vial in a cupboard and told Lupin her plan. Quickly he leapt forward, picking up one of the empty glasses and holding it to his friend's lips just as the healer burst in angrily. Bianca pretended to sulk in the corner while Tonks, Fred and George were all smirking slightly.

Lupin stepped forward to the healer, his hand outstretched, "I'm so sorry my friend's behaviour," he said, "We have talked to her and she's promised to calm down."

"I am sorry," Bianca said, "There's no excuse."

The man nodded sceptically, "Why do you all care so much? About this man?"

"He's a very close friend of ours," Lupin explained, "We can see past the false claims made about him and know his true story."

"So if he didn't murder all those people, what did happen?" the healer was openly curious now.

"He was framed," Lupin said simply, "Believe it or not, but this man would probably be one of the last people to join You-Know-Who. In fact, he was injured fighting against him."

The healer looked torn between believing them and laughing in their faces.

"There are ways of proving it," Lupin continued, "But I fear it would be a waste of time."

"Proving it how?"

"I could tell you myself **."**


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

"I could tell you myself."

Six heads snapped to the bed where Sirius was grinning at them happily, "I'd shake your hand," Sirius continued, "But-" he nodded his head to his restrained limbs.

Lupin leant down and wrapped him in a hug tearfully. Bianca stepped forward, smiling.

Sirius faked fear and pressed himself into his bed, "It's Voldemort's daughter!" he said jokingly, "Does anyone have a pillow? Or a chocolate frog?"

"Will you ever let that go?" Bianca laughed.

"Absolutely not."

"But I saved your life!"

"And I'm very grateful," Sirius promised, "But it was still hilarious."

"So what do you think?" George asked the healer who was still standing with a mix of emotions on his face, "Mass murderer material?"

The healer gulped and shook his head, "You're all with Harry Potter," he stuttered, "You're friends with him?"

The group gave a collective nod of confirmation, "How did you figure that out?"

The healer pointed at Bianca, "You're You-Know-Who's daughter, that's what he said. My little brother goes to Hogwarts with you. He says you're nothing like what the papers say- apparently, you're quite nice." He paused, "Not that I've seen any proof of that so far."

"I am sorry," Bianca said, "I just needed to see him."

"You care about me that much, eh?" Sirius asked raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Oh no," Bianca laughed, "But Harry's been going crazy."

Sirius' face paled. "Don't worry," Bianca said, "I'll write to him now."

"I doubt you'll be in here much longer," the healer told Sirius, "Once we've checked everything over, I'll find a way to get you out of here."

Bianca, Fred and George thanked the healer and left. Lupin and Tonks promised to stay with Sirius until he was released to make sure everything went smoothly and he didn't get sent back to prison.

"That was fabulous," Fred told her as they walked back to Diagon Alley.

"It was horrible," Bianca said.

George laughed, "But Sirius is ok, now."

Bianca nodded in relief and the three walked the rest of the way, hand-in-hand in silence until they reached the shop. George pulled out the keys and opened the front door so the three were standing in the porch.

"Flat or shop?" Fred asked.

"Shop," Bianca said excitedly and followed the twins down the stairs, away from the flat door.

"You can see the storage any time," Fred said, trying to pass it off as though it was unimportant and not really revealing that the real reason was that they'd hidden the pygmy puffs there so Bianca wouldn't see them until she'd met her own pet. The boys led her right down to the shop floor and then George covered her eyes with his hands while Fred opened the door. He kept her blinded until he'd pulled her so she was standing inside the entrance- the place you could see the shop's full glory.

"Three-" Fred said.

"Two-" George continued.

"One!" they said together and George removed his hands.

Bianca gasped. She'd never seen anything so colourful and joyful in her life. It was impossible not to grin as she looked around. Not one surface was dull or boring- each covered with either an array of products or some bright, bold colour. Every wall was different, one bright green, one hot pink. Everything clashed with each other but also worked together beautifully.

"It's wonderful," she gasped.

The boys whisked her around the room, showing her everything they'd done. By the time they'd walked around the full floor, she felt completely ready to burst with pride. She jumped at them both and wrapped her arms around them.

"It's wonderful! I've never seen anything like it!" she gushed, "I'm so proud of you! You've even made an office look fun!"

"You haven't seen the front yet," George took her hand and pulled her out the front door, pausing only to unlock it.

The boys had kept it completely covered which had caused much confusion but also much anticipation amongst the wizarding community. Together, the twins lifted their wands, and the sheets which had been covering the shop vanished.

Bianca's mouth fell open. People walking along the alley stopped what they were doing and turned to look in amazement. Fred and George grinned proudly. It was easily the most eye-catching shop on the street. It screamed colour and happiness. There was a huge sign that read- 'Opens tomorrow!' along with multiple other advertisements for products and different things.

"Would you look at that?" George said, "We've made Bianca speechless!"

Fred tore his eyes away from the shop and turned to look at Bianca. She was staring, open-mouthed, at the shop, her eyes sparkling like a child's at Christmas as they flitted from place to place, absorbing everything there was to see. A few minutes later, when she was in the same position, the twins laughed and George picked her up to carry her back inside while Fred called out to passers-by, telling them all loudly to come and see the shop. Bianca fought against George's hold, wishing she could stay and admire their work forever, but he dragged her inside. Once Fred was in too and the door was locked, they made their way back up the stairs and into the flat.

"What are all those?" Bianca pointed to the muggle electric appliances.

"We'll tell you later," Fred brushed her off, "We need to show you something."

"Now," George said seriously, "I know we said we wouldn't touch the flat except our rooms, but Fred and I decided that we'd do a little bit extra."

"Please, don't be upset," Fred led her towards her room, "Obviously you can change it if you don't like it, but we really did try."

He opened the door and let her in. For the third time in the past hour, her eyes lit up with glee. The room suited her perfectly. The twins had taken the time to make sure every piece of furniture matched and that the colours would work together properly. They'd spent hours moving her possessions from the Burrow and positioning them in her new room.

"You did so well!" she kissed them both on the cheek, "I love it."

"We got you something else you might love too," George grinned and disappeared to his room, returning a few seconds later holding three fluffy balls of happy fur. Fred took his own pygmy puff from his twin, allowing it to scurry up so that it sat on his head like a bird in a nest. He then took Bianca's and handed it to her. She took it with a delighted look on her face and cuddled it to her face where it nuzzled her gently.

"What is it?" she asked in a voice at least four octaves higher than usual.

"A pygmy puff," George said, laughing as his own pet ran around his shoulders.

"We bred them," Fred said, "Come on, we'll show you the rest."

The boys led her back down the stairs and into the storage floor where the rest of the puffs were playing with each other. They took their time explaining how they'd come to own so many adorable creatures, before moving them all back down to their place in the shop.

"We're selling them," George told her, "We figured they'd go to better homes than they were in with that horrible breeder with customers."

As soon as she had seen the pygmy puffs, Bianca ran upstairs to write to Harry and explain everything that had happened at St Mungo's. She sent the letter with one of the twins' owls and joined them back in the flat so they could explain what all the strange new objects were. They told her all about Muggle London and everything they'd seen and bought there.

"They have loads of places to eat," Fred said, "So we thought that, seeing as we're all together again now, that we could go out for dinner somewhere and try a Muggle restaurant. Especially seeing as we don't even have a kitchen table yet so George and I have been eating off plates from the Burrow on the floor."

"We'll go shopping tomorrow," Bianca suggested, "If you aren't too tired after work."

"Excellent," George clapped his hands together, "Now, how about food? I'm starving."

They all quickly got changed, left their pygmy puffs together in Fred's room and headed out the flat and into Muggle London. George explained to her all about the different kinds of eating places they'd come across and the three wandered around for a while before deciding on a small Italian restaurant. Being too scared to order different things, they all ordered a plain pizza with a jug of water for sharing and then had some ice cream for dessert. It was nothing exotic or exciting, but it was tasty all the same and they had the place bookmarked to come back to because they knew it was nice there.

When Fred, George and Bianca left the restaurant a few hours later, it was getting late so it was dark outside. Knowing how loud and rowdy some areas of London could be at night, Fred and George took the direct route back to the Leaky Cauldron- a path they knew very well. Fred let them all back into the flat, locking every door behind him and then joined George and Bianca sitting on the floor in the living room space.

"We need a sofa," George groaned, "Flopping onto the floor after a lovely meal isn't quite as nice as flopping onto a nice, comfy sofa."

Fred hummed his agreement and stretched, "I'm exhausted," he yawned, "And we've got to be up early to sort the shop out, Georgie."

George nodded, hauled himself to his feet and all three retired to bed. Falling asleep came easily now they were together again, knowing that only a wall separated unlike the hundreds of miles and country border which had previously been the case.

While Bianca had been at Hogwarts, the twins had fallen into an easy routine. They would get up at the same time and while Fred cooked breakfast, George would shower and get ready. They'd eat together on the floor of the kitchen and then George would wash up while Fred got ready. Then, they'd either do chores around the flat, work in the shop or go out for the day. For dinner, George would cook with Fred 'helping'. They had quickly discovered that Fred wasn't capable of cooking anything other than the basics needed for breakfast, so if they wanted to enjoy something edible for dinner, it had to be George at the stove. For the twins, although it was much too adult for their liking, it worked well; they split jobs fairly if they didn't do them together.

The morning of the shop's grand opening was chaotic. The boys were so used to their little routine that it wasn't until Bianca stumbled into the kitchen while they were eating that they realised Fred hadn't cooked enough breakfast for her and that they were running half an hour later than they had planned. From that point, all three of them ran around manically, between their rooms, up and down stairs to the shop and out onto the street for advertising.

They all dressed in identical magenta robes- Bianca was helping in the shop until she had a job, hopefully as a healer, secured elsewhere and the twins were used to things. Somehow, they managed to have everything sorted in time for opening. The twins had huge plans and so when the clock struck nine, Fred flung open the doors and George discreetly lit a set of fireworks before joining his brother in the doorway. That way, any photographs taken by reporters showed both the boys grinning proudly underneath their shop and surrounded by explosions of light. Bianca had hidden herself amongst the crowds to snap a quick photo of them to keep in the flat before sneaking in and posing with them- the boys had insisted.

There were a surprising amount of people who were all waiting in anticipation for the shop's opening. They'd been drawn like moths to a light towards the new, colourful building which was so unlike any other dull, barren shop on the street that they couldn't help but investigate. Not everyone came inside when the twins moved aside but instead hovered on the street uncertainly. That was fine with Fred and George. More than enough people had flooded in to keep them busy.

Throughout the day, several explosions were set off both inside the shop and outside to attract people. Every so often when someone passed through the door, a bucket of glitter would tip onto their head and change through every colour of the rainbow before dissipating into harmless, beautiful tiny fireworks. Once or twice, someone stood on a pressure pad which triggered all the lights to flicker off in the shop so that the glow in the dark paint which Fred had smeared in peculiar patterns on the walls lit up. Quite often, a poor customer would pick up an item from a shelf only to have the entire shelf collapse and drop all the products onto the floor. Of course, the shelf would repair itself and the products magically resumed their place a few minutes later, but it was still enough to scare the customer into thinking they'd caused damage to the shop on its first day of business. Back-up supplies were flying out of the enchanted chute at an unbelievable rate and at one point, George had to run upstairs to make sure there was enough stock in storage. Thankfully, with the months they'd had for preparation, the boys had made enough products to last them several weeks.

At the end of the day, Fred shut the doors and turned to look at George who was leaning tiredly against the till, head in his arms. Bianca has slumped to the floor in the pygmy puff cage and was playing with the few that remained.

"That," George breathed, "Was mental."

"It won't be like that every day," Fred said, "It's just because today was the first."

As it turned out, the first couple of weeks were just as busy as the opening. They had no idea they wizarding population was so large but they were fairly certain that every person with magical blood within London had been to look in at least once. It was only after those first few weeks that things finally calmed down, and while business was still better than they'd ever imagined, it hadn't been so mental that they had to take a nap before dinner every night. This finally gave them time to go shopping for furniture after work and once the twins had hired a lovely assistant called Verity to help out four days a week, Bianca finally had the chance to drop in her application at St Mungo's.

They'd received a letter from Lupin a few days into the holiday telling them that, with the help of the healer, they'd got Sirius out of the hospital and into Grimmauld place where the pair were currently staying. He also said that he'd written to Harry to give him an update and that Sirius was recovering well.

On one of the calmer days, they had a group of friendly visitors come in to see the shop. Lee, Angelina and Alicia poked their heads around the door and grinned at George who was standing closest to them.

"Do we have the right place?" Lee joked, "I couldn't quite tell from the outside."

"That depends what you're looking for," George replied cheekily, directing the customer he had been helping in the direction of the tills, where Fred stood with Verity, "If you're wanting the best joke shop known to the wizarding world, you're definitely in the right place."

"Really?" Angelina looked around, "I'm sure Zonko's didn't look like this last time we were here."

"Ouch," George said, "That hurt. I have something that might change your mind, though."

George vanished into the crowd to allow his friends to look around and then found them again holding several pygmy puffs. "Zonko's doesn't have these," he said with a grin. Pygmy puffs had turned out to be the shop's secret weapon. Younger children especially fell in love with them at first sight and then were eager to look around the shop to see what else they had to offer. As was the reaction of so many others, the girls squealed and ran forward to pet them. Even Lee admitted they were cute as he chuckled and patted one on George's shoulder.

"Where's Bianca?" Alicia asked, looking around the store.

"Upstairs," George said flatly, still showing off the pygmy puffs to Angie, "She doesn't really like the crowds so usually prefers to stay in the flat or making more products."

Fred wandered over from the tills, leaving Verity to man them alone, "Oh," he said in fake disgust, "Who let this lot in?"

Lee scoffed, "Nice to see you too, mate. George was just showing us your pride and joy."

"It's quite sad, really," Fred said, "We have an entire joke shop full of hilarious products and the things that sell best are these little guys."

"Sorry, mate, but I'd rather have a cute cuddly thing than a smelly dungbomb."

"We missed a trick there," George said, "We should make dungbombs that look like pygmy puffs so when someone goes to stroke it- boom!"

Fred laughed, "Brilliant."

"This place is amazing," Alicia said, "How did you think of all of these ideas?"

"We've had some of them for years," Fred said, "We just didn't quite have the skills to make them until recently."

"They're fantastic."

"If you're trying to flatter us into giving you free products, I'm afraid the answer's no," Fred said, "Although we do appreciate the compliment. Georgie, why don't you give our guests a tour, I must get back to Verity."

Business continued as usual for the rest of the day until, an hour or so before closing, Bianca came bounding down the stairs holding an envelope and jumped up to sit on the desk which held the tills. Fred looked up at her curiously as she beckoned for George to come over excitedly. Once both the twins were by her side, she waved the letter in their faces and said happily, "I've got an interview for a job at St Mungo's."


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

"I've got an interview at for a job at St Mungo's," Bianca said to the twins with a huge grin on her face.

George looked up at her, eyes wide, and picked her up off the bench, spinning her around several times and earning some strange looks from customers.

"It's just an interview," Bianca laughed as he put her down, only to have Fred engulf her in a hug backwards from behind the till so that she fell backwards into him, "It doesn't mean anything."

"But it will," George said, "Because you're amazing."

"We'll have to find out," Bianca said, "I don't want to get my hopes up yet. Just in case."

"When's the interview?" Fred asked, still with his arms around her waist.

"Thursday," Bianca told him after checking the letter quickly.

"This Thursday? That's only two days away."

Bianca nodded excitedly, "I'm going to go and tell mum," she said, "I'll be back for dinner."

Mrs Weasley was, as to be expected from a proud mother, over the moon. She bounced around the kitchen at the Burrow squealing happily and completely ignoring Bill and Fleur who were sitting at the table awkwardly, holding hands.

"Don't tell the twins," Bill asked her after congratulation her on her interview, "Not yet, anyway. I don't think we're ready for the endless teasing." When Bianca didn't reply immediately, he continued, "I know you don't keep things from each other, but it won't be long. If you like, when we tell them, we can all pretend you didn't know either."

Bianca nodded and he beamed at her, "Thank you. I want mum and dad used to it before everyone else finds out," he lowered his voice, "I don't think they're too happy."

Bianca hugged him, "Well you don't need to worry about me, I'm happy if you are."

Fleur gave her a quick hug too and, remembering her from the tournament, Bianca smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder.

"I best be getting back to the flat," Bianca announced.

"We'll all drop in on Thursday afternoon," Mrs Weasley said, "Find out how you got on and I suppose everyone will want to see the shop."

Both fortunately and unfortunately for Bianca, Thursday seemed to come after Tuesday. Wednesday passed in a nervous blur of helping around the shop and doing general housework until they were all sitting on their newly bought kitchen chairs at their newly bought kitchen table. George and Bianca's pygmy puffs- Jester and Lester were scurrying around the kitchen, hiding in mugs and splashing in the dishwater while Fred's puff Fester sat happily in his hair- its usual home. Bianca tapped her feet nervously under the table and drummed her fingers on the wood. Deciding she was too uptight, Fred picked up his fork which was still covered in tomato sauce from their lasagne, and flicked it at her, resulting in a rather large blob of orange on her nose. Slowly, she wiped her face clean with her finger and selected a piece of broccoli to fire straight into Fred's mouth as he laughed. George snorted and his twin threw tiny garlic bread bullets across the table. Bianca pierced a piece of uneaten pasta with her fork and used it to swat Fred. Very quickly, it became a fully-fledged food fight and tomato sauce covered every inch of the walls as well as the table, cupboards and everything else in the room.

Still laughing, Bianca got up to shower, leaving the twins to clean up- they had started it after all, but returned a few minutes later to find Fred alone, still caked in sauce. Lester, who had decided to join Bianca in the shower and was now a sopping wet pom-pom on her shoulder, rolled away to find Fester and Jester.

"Where's George?" Bianca asked.

"Went to get changed," Fred said grumpily, ducking as a clean plate flew over his head and into the cupboard, "He said I had to do the dishes seeing as I started the fight."

Bianca laughed, "Well isn't it good that we have magic?"

Fred smiled, "Certainly is."

"You can use my shower, if you want," she told him, moving to sit on the sofa, "I'm done now."

Fred nodded his thanks and went to clean up. Bianca stayed on the sofa, knees tucked up to her chest, deep in thoughts. She jumped in surprise when George startled her by jumping onto the seat next to her and asking what was wrong.

"Nothing," she smiled, "I'm just thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Tomorrow, mainly. But also something Dumbledore mentioned."

"Oh yeah?"

"After the fight at the ministry, when he was taking me to the Hospital Wing, he mentioned erm, he mentioned asking Madame Pomfrey to check over my back. You know, the, erm, the-"

"Scars?" George assumed angrily, "Yeah."

"I asked him how he knew, and he said that Snape had told him. Apparently he was concerned."

George gasped dramatically, "Snape has the ability to care?"

Bianca giggled, "It seems so. But also, that meant he was in contact with Dumbledore that whole time he was gone. Which means that-"

"He's a good guy," George concluded, "Even though he's a git."

"Yes. I mean, he didn't have to mention it, it wasn't the most important thing happening at school at that time. But he did."

"And you're worried about that?"

"Not worried," Bianca said, "Confused. He flaunts around as if he's above everyone else but then, takes unnecessary risks to alert Dumbledore of some small thing that happened to me. Why?"

"I would hardly call it small, Bea," George said.

"You know what I mean," Bianca brushed him off, "It had nothing to do with the order or anything like that, but still he did it. Because he was concerned. So why does he act the bad guy?"

"I don't know," George said. He looked up at the clock, "Maybe we should get to bed. Big day tomorrow!"

"Don't remind me," Bianca groaned and got to her feet.

"You'll be fine," he told her and pushed her towards her room, just as Fred was leaving the bathroom.

"Truer words have never been spoken," he agreed, "You'll be great."

Bianca got up early the next morning to dig through her wardrobe and find something suitable to wear. She tied her hair up into a quick ponytail to keep it out her face and composed herself in the mirror before heading out to get breakfast. Fred and George were sitting at the kitchen table eating their breakfast and dressed in their work robes which today were a dull maroon. They smiled at her and she tried to return the gesture, but ended up just grimacing.

"Oh no," George said, "That won't do."

"Confidence, dear," Fred clapped his hands loudly, "We need confidence!"

"Dazzle them with your presence," George said, "Blow them away with your poise!"

Bianca shook her head and sat down, taking deep breaths to calm herself.

"Bea," Fred said more seriously, "You got the grades, you've got the talent, you've done all the preparation you need. There's nothing that could go wrong!"

She kept those few special words replaying in her brain while she sat in front of the two healers interviewing her and the thought of them seemed to be keeping her going until one fateful question arose.

The healer, who had been colder towards her from the start, looked up from his papers and said unprofessionally, "Your You-Know-Who's daughter?"

Bianca faltered for a second. Everything had been going so well! She sighed and held her head up high- she had, after all, been expecting this to come up, "Yes," she said, "I am."

"But you aren't evil?"

"With all due respect, sir, multiple times, I have actively fought against Lord Voldemort and helped protect the rest of the community. I am about as evil as you are."

"You use his name?"

"I'm not scared of him, sir. I will fight for what I believe in and what I think is right, no matter if the enemy is my father, best friend or someone I've never met. There's no need for me to be scared. Now, could we perhaps return to questions more appropriate to the job?"

The man ignored her, "Why do you want to work here, if you're _his_ daughter?"

"As I have already said," Bianca sighed irritably, "I'm here to fight against him. I want to help people and unfortunately, something tells me that more help is going to be needed here pretty soon. We've all seen how bad things are getting."

"But-"

"Perhaps I could ask you a question, "Bianca interrupted him, "Do you judge everyone based on their parent-hood or only the ones who grew up so far away from said parents that really it's completely out of the question that they would share anything in common?"

The man looked stunned.

"You know perfectly well that I do not associate myself with any Death Eater activity, so I think that you just wasted both our time."

The other healer, who's been ignoring the heated exchange and was looking through paperwork and tapping her quill looked up, cutting the conversation short, "Well I must say, you achieved some excellent grades in your N.E.W.T.s and have some admirable references including details of experiences from professors. You've definitely impressed me and you have all the appropriate qualities and qualifications," she paused and smiled, "I personally see no reason why you wouldn't get a job here. As you said yourself, we'll be needing more help around here soon. I'll get everything filed and sorted and send an owl with confirmation as soon as possible, just in case."

Bianca stared at her in shock. She certainly hadn't been expecting such a definite answer already. She was prepared to wait weeks to find out for sure, not immediately. She also couldn't help but think that the presence of the second interviewer had been slightly unnecessary- they hadn't even discussed it with each other- as she shook their hands and beamed. After thanking both healers multiple times, she hurried out of the hospital and ran through London, back to Diagon Alley. Bianca paused outside the shop, calming herself. Nothing was certain yet, so, until she received the owl, she wouldn't be getting too excited.

She pushed open the door to the twin's shops and navigated through the crowds to find them. They were both ecstatic and told her how proud they were of her and once again she had to remind them that it wasn't sorted for certain.

"I'm going upstairs," she said, "There're too many people here. Tell me when mum gets here, she said she'd drop in."

Bianca sunk onto the sofa happily. She couldn't believe it! There had been a point when she thought that she'd never get a job because of the rumours spreading in the papers. But St Mungo's had looked past this and hired her based on what they knew, not what they assumed. And she was so happy she could burst. Despite the dark times around them, everything seemed to be going right! Fred and George had the shop of their dreams and she had probably just secured herself a job as a healer- something she'd been working towards for years. Sirius was alive, Harry was safe (momentarily, at least) and she had returned to living with her two best friends. And now, most of the wizarding community was aware of Voldemort's return and were taking precautions and measures needed to protect themselves. Could it really be possible that, in the middle of a raging war, things were starting to look up?

A few days later, on one particularly warm day when the three were eating their dinner with the kitchen window open after a busy day working in the shop, an owl swooped in elegantly and held its leg out regally for Bianca to take the letter. Fred and George shared a look of anticipation and Bea unfolded the parchment and read.

"It's confirmed!" she squealed, reading out loud, "Miss Bianca Riddle," she frowned at the use of her surname, "We are delighted to inform you of the confirmation of your job at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Please report to the main reception on the ground floor on Monday, 28th July at 0900 for your first day. You will be greeted by one of our Healers for details and the first part of your training. Many congratulations, blah blah blah," she looked up at the twins, "I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it!"

They all danced around the kitchen for a while happily before George stood still, "This calls for Italian."

"The usual place?" Fred asked.

"If that's what Bianca wants," George said, "It's up to her."

Bea smiled, "The usual place."

They had a lovely meal. Each time they visited the restaurant, they tried something different, gradually making their way up to the more exciting things on the menu. This time, they enjoyed a three-course meal and left very late at night, giddy with joy.

"I need to tell mum!" Bianca suddenly gasped.

"You don't start for another few days," George said, "There's plenty of time to tell mum. You can drop in tomorrow and give her the news while we're at the shop. It's too late now, and I'm too full to do anything except fall asleep on the sofa."

"The sofa?" Fred asked, "Why not your bed?"

"Because if we're all in our beds, we can't enjoy each other's company! It's been too long since we stayed up together chatting."

Fred and Bianca looked at him in surprise and confusion, "You want a sleepover?"

George raised his hands, "All I'm saying is that we used to sleep in the same room together and could stay up talking whenever we wanted. We can't do that if we're in separate rooms unless we wanted to shout. I just thought it would be nice to spend a night how we used to."

"Is this the start of some elaborate prank?" Bianca asked suspiciously.

"No!" George said, annoyed, "Honestly, it was just a suggestion. I'll sleep on the sofa by myself if you're that against it."

Once the three returned to the flat, they changed into cosy pyjamas, grabbed some blankets and pillows and rearranged the furniture so that the sofas formed a strange sort of bed and clambered onto it.

"This is comfy," Bianca said as she tucked herself into her blanket and snuggled down, "Good idea, George."

"Why, thank you," George said, "It happens sometimes."

They all talked for a few hours before cuddling up together and drifting off to sleep happily. They were so comfortable and peaceful as they were, that they didn't wake up until extremely late, and only when Mrs Weasley Flooed directly into the flat, shouting at them to get up.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked, "You have work in fifteen minutes, boys!"

Fred, George and Bianca jerked awake and leapt to their feet.

"The shop opens in fifteen minutes and you're still fast asleep, get ready! Quickly! I'll cook your breakfast!"

While the boys rushed to get ready, Bianca ran down to the shop to make sure everything was ready for opening and just had time to vanish back upstairs as the twins opened the doors. Fred's tie was wonky and George's trousers were on back to front, but Bianca didn't have time to tell them as she was skipping up the stairs to the flat where Mrs Weasley was serving her up some breakfast.

"What in Merlin's name are all these strange things?" she mumbled, "They're just like their father, collecting Muggle items."

Bianca let her mumble away angrily while she ate her breakfast until she sat down opposite, holding a mug of tea.

"Mum," Bianca said carefully, laying down her fork, "I have some news."

Mrs Weasley looked at her, confusion written on her face, "Yes, dear?"

Bianca got up and crossed the room to retrieve the letter from St Mungo's so that she could hand it to Mrs Weasley. She bit her lip nervously and watched while her mother read.

"Oh, Bianca!" Mrs Weasley shot to her feet and ran around the table so quickly, Bianca barely even registered the movement, "I am so, so proud of you! I just knew you'd get the job, I did! And you start so soon! This really is excellent."

Bianca beamed; now all she could do was wait for Monday.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

At precisely seven minutes to nine on Monday 28th July, 1996, Bianca Riddle stood at the front desk of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, wringing her hands as she waited for a Healer to come and collect her. She'd signed in, filled in all the necessary paperwork and was now tapping her feet in a mixture of excitement and nerves. The kind old woman at the front desk had told her she'd been assigned to a very experienced healer, who was always loved by his apprentices and saw them through easily, and now she was anxiously waiting his arrival. A sharp tap on the shoulder forced her to turn quickly and she came face to face with a very gentle looking middle-aged man.

"Bianca?" he asked.

"That's me," Bianca smiled, sticking her hand out.

He shook it, "I'm Healer John, I'll be supervising your training."

"Lovely to meet you," Bianca said politely.

"And you," he smiled, "If you'll just follow me, I'll take you the staff room where all the bag compartments are and we'll get you fitted with some scrubs and work robes."

Bianca nodded and walked after Healer John as he took her into a little room next to the main desk. The receptionist there gave her a wink and a thumbs up as she passed. The passed rows and rows of identical lockers, each with a small name inscribed on them.

"I'm afraid that because you're our newest employee, your locker is right at the very end," John said apologetically, "They magically appear as soon as someone is hired, so the longer you've been here, the closer it is to the entrance."

Finally, they reached the very last locker. The name on it read, 'Miss B. Riddle'. She frowned- she really did hate that surname.

"What's wrong?" John asked her, noticing her smile fall.

"Nothing important," Bianca said, "I just don't like my surname."

"So you really are-"

"Yes," as irritating as it was to have this conversation with everyone she met, in this case, seeing as she'd be working with John closely for most of the foreseeable future, she was glad to get it out the way soon, "But I'm not like him, I promise."

"I'm sure you're not. Here," John waved his wand quickly and when she looked back at her locker, it simply said, 'Bianca'.

"You have to see it every day," John told her, "I don't think that's very fair. That might make you feel more comfortable."

"Thank you."

"Now, it'll only open for you, so if you'll just," he gestured for her to open the door so Bianca reached forward and, under her touch, the locker flew open. "Take that blue robe," John instructed her, "Put it on and it'll adjust to fit you. The blue colour means trainee, so you, obviously. As you become more and more qualified, the colours change. I'll be working with you until you get your green robe. To get that, you work ten weeks on each floor of the hospital, starting at the bottom and working your way up. From that, you'll learn all the basics needed for the Level 1 Healer qualification. There's a written and practical exam after those forty weeks. Then, assuming you pass, you can select one floor to specialise in further. Obviously, not every person admitted to hospital has an injury as simple as one floor, so you'll still have to practice other skills, but you'll spend most of your time in one ward. The Healer-in-Charge will watch over you for a few weeks but then you'll probably be on your own once you know the ropes unless you ask for help. Never be afraid to do that, by the way, people who don't ask don't pass. Anyway, the more exams you pass, the higher level of Healer you are. After green, you get pink, then yellow, then white." Bianca looked at John in confusion- his robes were grey. "I'm a trainer," he explained, "Never got stuck on Level 3 so decided I'd be more useful training other people."

"Right," Bianca said, "Newbies are blue, pros are white, everyone else is in between. What are the cleaners?"

John laughed, "Wands," he said, "First thing you learn, always clean up after yourself. Right," he clapped his hands together, "Happy with your robes?"

Bianca nodded and pushed her locker closed after storing her coat and bag inside.

"Excellent. You're starting on the first floor- creature induced injuries. You'll start basic- little bites, or stings, small, common things like that. Remember I'll be with you for all of your training so unfortunately, you're stuck with me for forty weeks."

"As long as you get me through my exams," Bianca said.

"Oh, I've just thought, actually, open your locker again."

Bea stepped back towards her locker and pulled the door. On the inside, there was a timetable showing all the shifts she'd be doing.

"It updates every day to show you the upcoming two weeks. For the first five weeks, all your training takes place in the day so, as you can see, every day looks the same for you. Obviously once you got the hang of things, you'll work things which are more similar to shifts, so you can get a proper feel for how things will work once you're qualified. Just wait until you've done your first night shift," he laughed, "You'll want to quit in a heartbeat."

"Do you say that to all your new trainees?"

"Of course," John said, "It's enough to send some people packing immediately."

"Fantastic," she looked at her timetable, "No work on Friday?"

"You do get days off occasionally, you know. Everyone's timetables are based on each other. If there's a reason one person can't be in, so long as they give plenty of warning, everyone's switch to move around that."

"So that there's always a full team."

"Exactly. Although, seeing as our timetables match for obvious reasons, the reason for your free Friday this week might have something to do with the fact I applied for Friday off so I could go to that Muggle festival in the park. It intrigued me. Anyway, to the first floor."

Bianca immediately recognised this floor as the one Mr Weasley had been admitted to after his snake attack. John quickly whisked her away to one of the wards and signed them in at the desk there. "You'll be here all week," he told her, "Probably longer, depending on how you get on. This ward rarely has anyone here staying overnight. It's where people with the smallest injuries go. Ones which can be treated immediately and quickly. There's one of these on each floor and you'll spend your first week here to build up the basics. Everything you'll learn here from the second week on will be based on that. You'll also not see anyone in here with yellow or white robes, and not usually pink either. Their skills are needed elsewhere. Right, shall we start with scratches?" he suggested, "They're usually easiest. I assume you've had healing experience?"

Bianca laughed, "Oh yeah. As the daughter of You-Know-Who, I'm regularly in dangerous situations and I live with two inventors. It's crazy how quickly you pick up things when there's a constant risk of your friend's dying otherwise and the only way to get around it is saving them."

"I can imagine. You'll be a natural at this, I'm sure."

The rest of the day was fairly easy for Bianca. She'd healed scratches thousands of times, the only things she learnt was where the creams and potions were kept and how to identify different scratches from the most common attackers. John even let her treat a couple of patients under very strict supervision and only if she told him exactly what she was going to do first.

After they'd sent away a man whose arm had been littered with scratches from a baby dragon- how they'd got away without burns, they didn't know- and John turned to her, "You can go early. Something tells me you haven't really learnt anything worthwhile today. You are much more experienced and prepared than most trainees, I must say."

"Thank you," Bianca said.

"We'll see if we can cover bites and burns tomorrow with you and get you sorted in here for Wednesday."

John took her back down to the lockers and told her he'd meet her upstairs in the ward tomorrow at nine.

The first week of training was fairly simple for Bianca. The first few days especially were a breeze and when John introduced her to venom extraction, she found that she picked that up easily too. She was very interested in everything she learned, and was relieved at how well she was coping so far. John only kept her in the basic ward for a week before moving her up to a more challenging one. She wasn't allowed near patients for quite a while in there because of the amount she had to learn first, but after about four weeks, she was allowed to observe other healers working. Bianca learned lots, and every night when she got home, she wrote up what she'd done that day to store as notes. As a healer, it was important to know how to deal with everything, even the simplest of injuries, so she kept everything in an organised folder, determined to excel.

When she had a day off, she'd spend it helping Fred and George in the shop. She didn't see them through the day, so they made their living room sleepovers a more regular occurrence but now they had a Muggle alarm clock to make sure they didn't sleep in.

Night shifts were also a new experience for Bianca. She didn't mind them much, especially as she was only training. Everyone she worked with always seemed so much more determined to be positive through the night and none of them ever complained because they were all equally tired. She'd return to the flat in the early hours of the morning, usually just before the twins woke up. She'd cook them all a simple breakfast- a task which she found more difficult than many of the injuries she'd faced at work- and they'd eat together and then the boys would go down to the shop and Bianca would go to bed for a few hours. She never slept the entire way through the day, and would usually get up just before lunch, help downstairs and then go to bed at a normal time. She found this way she didn't mess up her body clock too much and she'd be alright to go to work the next morning.

Her forty weeks of training which had seemed so intimidating to begin with, passed in the blink of an eye. She'd met so many people on every floor of the hospital and even formed a strange friendship with the old lady who worked on the front desk sometimes. The shop was thriving and the boys enjoyed every day. Bianca also loved going to work every day and always being faced with something new. No two people came into the hospital with the same ailment. She had particularly liked the thrill of working on the floor of diseases where even just entering or exiting a ward took lots of cleaning and cleansing to prevent spread. Bianca also enjoyed the problem solving of the fourth floor. Quite a lot of the time, patients were in no fit state to tell them what had happened or what spell they'd been hurt by, so it was often down to the healers to figure it out. Overall, her training was as brilliant as she'd always thought it would be, but there was always one thing memory that stayed in her head, driving her to work harder.

She'd been on night shift in her ninth week of the third-floor training. A man had been rushed in as an emergency after being attacked by a deadly venomous plant in his greenhouse. Bianca had been part of a team to heal him- they'd needed everyone, no matter their experience. They worked for hours, but to no avail. The man died in the early hours of the morning. Bianca would never forget the look on the wife's face when the Healer-in-Charge told her what had happened. The image of her, gripping onto her little girl, both of them sobbing horrendously, was carved into her mind like names on a gravestone. She vaguely remembered John leading her away by the shoulder all the way down to the lockers where he sat her down and apologised for putting her through such a difficult task when she'd only been working there for a few months. Apparently people didn't usually face that until they were at least level 1. But she wasn't listening. All she could think about was if that woman had been Mrs Weasley, clinging onto Ginny or Ron, or Fred, or George or even her if Mr Weasley hadn't made it after his snake attack. If they'd saved him, why couldn't they save this man today? She felt immensely guilty, and couldn't even begin to imagine the sorrow that family were feeling.

John had walked her home, unsure that she was quite with it and followed her into the flat. Fred and George were working late- very late. After a particularly busy day in the shop, stocks were running low, so they had stayed up late into the night and long into the morning but were just about ready to go to bed when the door upstairs being opened.

Fred looked at the clock, "It must be Bea," he said, "Otherwise they wouldn't be able to come in."

"She's early," George said, brow creased.

The boys locked up and climbed the stairs two at a time to see why Bea was back so soon. They were not expecting to find her sunk into the sofa, head in her hands, shoulders shaking with a man standing next to her, looking slightly pained.

"Hello?" George said, while Fred jumped over the back of the sofa and pulled Bianca into his chest, "Who are you?"

"I'm John," the man said, "Bianca's trainer."

George sighed in relief; Bianca had told them about John in the utmost respect. She'd said he was a very nice man.

"What happened?" Fred asked Bianca gently, but she shook her head and buried herself into him further so the twins looked to John instead.

John explained what had happened at the hospital in the kindest way he could, but it still dissolved Bianca into sobs.

"Oh, Bea," Fred rubbed her back and George went to the kitchen to make hot drinks for everyone.

"I'm so sorry," John said, "I really shouldn't have asked her to help. But it was serious and we needed everyone. She's so talented and really does know what she's doing."

"She wanted to be a healer to help people," Fred said, "She's spent so much of the last few years being told she's dangerous and evil, she likes having a job where she saves people, don't you?"

Bianca nodded, raised her head and whispered something in his ear, telling him about the mother and child. Fred sighed and explained to John, "Our dad was in St Mungo's last year after being attacked by a snake. It was touch and go for a while."

"She thinks it's unfair that you all still have your father and that little girl doesn't," John assumed, "That's why she's upset."

Fred nodded.

"I would never have said no to helping," Bianca sniffled, "It was just a shock. I'm sure I would have had this reaction if it happened tonight or in two years."

John nodded, "I don't blame you. I must say, I was worse when someone erm…"

"Died," George said sadly, coming over with four floating mugs beside him,

"Exactly. I think you're coping rather well."

Bianca took a mug from George and thanked him, "I never introduced you, I'm sorry. John, this is Fred and George. Boys this is John, my trainer."

"I've heard lots about you," John said.

"We've heard lots about you," George said at the same time, and they all laughed.

Bianca wiped the last of her tears away, but inside she still felt hollow and guilty. It felt so horrible that they could be there laughing while there was a family somewhere who had just lost a father.

"I'd best be off," John said once he'd finished his drink, "I'll leave you in these two gentlemen's capable hands. You'll be alright for the night shift tomorrow?"

"Yes," Bianca said, "I'll be fine, I'll see you then."

George showed him to the door, "Thank you for getting her home," he said, "We appreciate it."

Once the three were alone again, Bianca looked up at the twins with teary eyes. "Sleepover?" she said hopefully.

Fred nodded and they all vanished to get changed. When Bianca returned, she'd washed her face clean of tears, tied her hair back in a messy bun and was wearing the cosiest pyjamas she owned. She clutched onto her blanket like a child holding onto their favourite teddy. The twins were already lounging on the beds which had been arranged into their usual bed shape. Bea settled down between the boys and Fred looked at her, "You know it wasn't your fault, right?"

"Of course, I do," Bianca said, "It's just really unfair."

They nodded. There was no denying that. "They'll appreciate that you helped though," George said, "That they didn't take one look at him and just do nothing. The family will be happy that the healers tried. And you were one of those healers. I think you should feel proud."

"That quite difficult at the moment."

"Where are the pygmy puffs?" George asked, "They'll cheer you up."

Fred pointed to his head. As usual, Fester was nesting there. "Don't know where yours are though," he said, "You should keep a closer eye on them."

"They'll be in the cupboard," Bianca said, "Lester will do anything for food and Jester follows him everywhere."

With a great deal of effort, George hauled himself up and sloped over to the cupboard to fetch their fluffy pets. Bianca snuggled further into Fred to make up for the lack of warmth from George and he wrapped both arms around her and kissed her on the head. When George returned, he scowled at them, "Now I feel lonely."

"Come back here, you lump," Fred said, "It's cold."

George placed the pygmy puffs on the arm of the sofa and leapt dramatically onto the 'bed', landing like a starfish on top of Fred and Bianca.

"I'm a blanket," he decided.

"A lumpy blanket," Fred said, "Move, I can't feel my legs."

"I'm fine just here," George said, "Bianca likes it, don't you Bea?"

"No, you're heavy."

George hmphed and sat opposite them, scowling with his arms crossed. Jester and Lester scurried up onto his shoulders, "These two still love me," he said, "Even if you two don't."

"We still love you," Fred said, "You're just an awful blanket. Now, come and sit over here. I'm cold."

With fake reluctance, George shuffled back into his original position and they sat there in silence for a while.

"Fred," George said eventually, "Do we have to open the shop tomorrow? I'm comfy here."

"Technically not," Fred said, "But we probably should."

"Verity's not in," George said, "We could open late."

Fred considered this, "The morning's usually slow anyway. And I'm sure Bea would rather have us here."

"I'm fine-"

"Shh," George told her, "We need an excuse to be lazy. You need emotional support, right?"

Bianca nodded, "Oh yeah. Definitely."

"See, we'd be better off here."

"You're right, Georgie," Fred flicked his wand, "There is now a sign on the door stating we'll be opening after lunch tomorrow."

"Excellent."

They all fell asleep very quickly, huddled together and enjoying each other's warmth with peaceful smiles on their faces.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The next morning, they woke up very late, but didn't rush to get up, instead staying tucked away from the miserable morning under piles of fluffy blankets. Fred turned on the radio and they spent a few hours listening to the Muggle songs that played. This was a regular occurrence in the flat and now they knew quite a lot of lyrics.

"I want to stay here all day," George groaned, rolling onto his front and burying his head in his pillow, "Look how cold and wet it is outside compared to how warm it is here." He indicated to the rain splattered windows and dismal grey sky, "Can we stay here?"

"Nope," Fred propped himself up on his elbow and looked across at George, "Well, at least, you can't. You need to make breakfast."

"I'll make breakfast for myself," George said, "But you don't deserve anything, you lazy sods."

"You're a wizard," Bianca's muffled voice came from under the blankets, "You can make everyone breakfast from here."

"Oh yeah," George said sheepishly, he shifted to the side to retrieve his wand. A few minutes later, the smell of sizzling sausages was wafting through the flat and some fresh bread was buttering itself.

"This is nice," Fred said contentedly when they were all munching on their sandwiches, "Can we do this every day?"

"But then it wouldn't be special," Bianca said, wiping some sauce from her face, "Besides, you two have a business to run."

George shrugged, "We've made more money in a year than we ever hoped to make in our lives."

Bianca swatted him, "I thought it was never about the money. It was meant to make people happy."

"It is! But the money's a good benefit. Look at all the cool things we've bought. Dad's so jealous of the microwave."

"What time are you opening?" Bianca asked, ignoring him.

"One," Fred said, "We'll stay open late. What time are you leaving?"

"My shift's nine till six, so probably just before half eight."

"Are you walking?"

Bianca nodded, "I always do. It's nice through the park."

"You'll be alright?"

Bianca nodded happily, "I'm fine, honestly. If anything, I just want to work harder. It's only eleven weeks left of training now."

When Bianca arrived at work that night, however, she found that, in fact, that wasn't quite true. John met her by her locker which was unusual as they always met in the wards.

"Good evening," she said brightly.

"Hello," John smiled, "Feeling better?"

"I'm fine," Bianca said, "Thank you for getting me home last night."

"It's not nice to be alone after something like that," he told her kindly, "I needed to make sure you were safe. I hope the boys took care of you."

"They always do," Bianca opened her locker and pulled on her robe, "So what do I owe the pleasure of this greeting?"

"We won't be working on floor three this week," John told her, "We're moving up already to spell damage. There's another trainee healer taking her test in nine weeks and we thought we should put you in with them. I know it cuts your training two weeks short but you're very able and we've looked over your records- you're definitely capable."

Bianca nodded, "So nine weeks of this, a couple of exams and I'll be a level one healer?"

"You will. Come on, spell damage is complicated and we don't have as much time as most people. Let's see how quickly we can cover the basics tonight."

"Learning new things on a night shift?" Bianca smiled, "That's bold."

They walked up to the fourth floor together. As he did before they started every new floor, John asked her, "Any experience in spell damage?"

"Not as much as the others," Bianca replied, "Although, can I tell you a secret?"

John's brow creased, "Yes."

"You remember Sirius Black was in here sometime last year?"

"Yes. The word around the staff is that he would have died if it weren't for someone saving him at the scene. Apparently, it was very impressive magic to reverse the damage."

"It was me," Bianca said quietly, "I'm not pretending to be an expert, though. I had no idea what I was doing. I just knew I couldn't let him die."

"I'm impressed," John said, "Although, I don't suppose you had anything to do with his mysterious disappearance from the hospital?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Bianca said.

"This isn't your way of telling me you really are evil, is it?"

"Sirius Black is a good man," Bianca said seriously, "His story was manipulated and he couldn't do anything about it. I'd trust him with anything and he's definitely _not_ in league with my father."

John put his hands up in surrender, "I've learnt over the past thirty weeks to trust your judgement. I was only teasing."

The first few weeks in spell damage were very challenging. Bianca had a lot to learn in not very much time. When she wasn't working, she was studying at the flat. She wanted desperately to pass this exam and dedicated everything she had to getting her qualification. She was really enjoying work at St Mungo's and returned to the flat one morning after a night shift with a bright smile plastered to her face. That was until she saw her mother standing in the living room, tear tracks staining her cheeks. Fred was sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands and George was slumped dejectedly on the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Bianca was immediately on high alert, "What's happened?"

"He's gone," Mrs Weasley sobbed, "Dumbledore's dead."

"No," she tried to say, but no sound came out, "How?"

"Snape," George said irritably, "They let a load of Death Eaters into the castle and there was a fight last night."

"Is everyone ok?"

Mrs Weasley broke down into tears and Bianca steered her to the sofa and sat her down. "Bill," she cried.

Bianca's heart fell, assuming the worst.

"He was attacked by Greyback-" that was all she could say before completely dissolving.

"Is he-" Bianca directed the question to George.

"They don't know for sure. Lupin says he should probably be ok, but it's difficult to tell for sure."

The four sat in a horrible silence until there was an owl flew through the window and deposited a copy of the Daily Prophet on the table. There was a small note attached to it, so Bianca moved across the room to pick it up and read, "'I thought you might all want to know about this. I'll see you later, Remus.' Later? What's happening later?"

"Dumbledore's funeral," George grunted, "In a couple of days. What does the article say?"

Bianca scanned the paper, "Stuff about Dumbledore, people paying respect and- oh."

"What?"

"They think it was me. They're saying I led all the Death Eaters in and started it all."

"Read it out loud," George said.

Bianca sighed, "Fine. 'It is currently unknown how the attackers entered the castle. Many suspicions, however, are aimed towards Miss Bianca Riddle, daughter of You-Know-Who. After attending the school for five years, she would have the suitable knowledge to sneak back in during a time of vulnerability and instigate a fight. It is the belief of many people that she is secretly a loyal follower to her father, despite claiming to have no connections with him. Until we have clarification of the specifics of this tragic event, there is no other plausible explanation for us to update you on.'"

Fred looked up angrily, his first bit of movement since Bianca had entered the flat.

"How could they ever believe that?" he demanded furiously, "You've never done anything to suggest you're evil. Everything you've ever done is to help us!"

"It's ok, Fred," Bianca said, "They're just scared. Dumbledore was the last hope for a lot of people and now they feel threatened. Nobody knows what happened last night and that's terrifying so it's completely understandable that they'd put the blame on someone and make up a story to build up a safety wall."

"You aren't annoyed about this?"

"I'm upset," Bianca said, "Not annoyed. There's no point getting annoyed at these things any more. Everything's getting much too serious to be wasting time being concerned about a newspaper article."

"Can't they find someone else to blame?" Fred got to his feet, "It's always you, Bea. You or Harry. But you're the two best people around. Watch, they'll be running away with their tails between their legs once you and Boy-Wonder save the Earth." He stormed into his bedroom and closed the door. Bianca and George weren't concerned. Knowing each other so well meant that they knew how they reacted to different situations. They'd give him a few minutes, then George would go in and cheer him up with a few laughs before Bianca entered with the hot drinks and they talked things over together. They knew he was just concerned about Bill and angry on Bianca's behalf, but it wasn't anything a hot chocolate and a cuddle couldn't fix.

Mrs Weasley, however, didn't quite know how to deal with the situation so well. She was rushing around manically, sobbing and stumbling.

"I'll take you home, mum," Bianca said, "Is dad there?"

"He's with Bill," Mrs Weasley said, shaking her head.

"Ok, well we're going home and I'll wait with you until dad comes back. Is that alright?"

Mrs Weasley nodded numbly and allowed Bianca to lead her to the fireplace. George smiled at her and slipped into Fred's room.

Upon arriving at the Burrow, Bianca led her mother into the kitchen and busied herself making a cup of tea. She refused to show her exhaustion. In order to pack in as much training as possible, she had taken the early morning to noon shift at work the previous day and then returned for the long night shift. In the few hours she'd spent at the flat, she'd consumed as much coffee as she thought safe and helped the boys in the shop. The caffeine had got her successfully through the night, but now, she had crashed internally and was swallowing back yawns every couple of minutes. With her brain working in slow motion, Bianca had let the kettle whistle for far too long before realising and taking it off the heat and then proceeded to brew the tea for so long it was practically black. Mrs Weasley didn't seem to care- she practically inhaled the drink in one go and Bianca was back at the counter making another one in a matter of minutes. They didn't talk much, allowing the tragedy of the night's events to sink in. Dumbledore had been the most powerful wizard in the world. People at Hogwarts felt protected with him there to watch over them. But now… was there anywhere safe left?

When Bianca finally returned to the Burrow after lunch, she was ready to drop off to sleep where she stood. In fact, if Fred hadn't been sitting on the sofa near to the fireplace and jumped to his feet to catch her, she would have fallen on her face.

"Sorry," she mumbled, steadying herself and standing upright, "Just tired."

"When was the last time you slept?" Fred asked.

"Not last night but the night before."

"You've been to work twice since then!" George said, "And that was the night we stayed up working downstairs."

"Hey, I would have gone to bed if I could. It's not like I was avoiding it. Ideally, I would have gone when I got back this morning but that didn't work out."

"How's mum?"

"She's better, I think. Dad's with her, he says Bill's fine. Fleur's with him."

"When's your next shift?"

"Tomorrow. 7a.m. Which means I can't sleep now because otherwise I'll be awake all night. So," she walked towards the kitchen, "Who wants a coffee?"

Fred and George didn't open the shop that day, choosing instead to fill their day with various stimulating activities such as tickle fights, dancing to the funny muggle songs and, as every normal person does on their day off, sliding down the stairs using pillows as sledges. By half past eight, Bianca was asleep on the sofa, her head on Fred's knee and her legs on George's lap.

"Everything suddenly seems a lot more real now, doesn't it," Fred said, "Like this isn't something far off in the future. Someone died- it's really serious."

George nodded, considering this, "Yes," he said, "But also, we'll get up tomorrow and go to work like any other day. We'll still laugh and joke and have a nice day. One person dying doesn't mean the end of the world within a day. We can't drop everything and prepare ourselves to fight because it might be months, or even years before we have to. There are too many nice things to think about before that happens."

"I wonder how many dungbombs we'll have sold between now and the end of all this."

"Three thousand seven hundred and sixteen."

"George, they come in packs of five."

"They might not forever."

The boys sat on the sofa for quite a while together until their legs started to go numb when Fred lifted Bianca off them and carried her through to her room. He quickly transfigured her clothes into comfortable pyjamas and flicked off the light before returning to George for one last drink and snack. George however, did not have the kettle on and instead, he was staring at it intently, leaning on the counter. "How does the water get hot?"

"There's a tiny dragon that lives in the wires and when you press the button, it breathes fire at it," Fred said soberly.

"No," George said, believing his brother was serious, "Because then it would still work if the plug wasn't in."

"The wire gives the dragon food," Fed said, "It gets upset if it isn't fed so won't work."

"Hm," George stood up and filled the kettle and happily set about making tea until he suddenly turned to Fred, "Hang on! Muggles don't know about dragons!" he threw a teabag at his twin.

Fred burst out laughing, bent over double, "I can't believe you fell for that!"

"That wasn't nice," George said, "I was considering writing to Charlie to ask what type of dragon they use in kettles."

This, of course, only made Fred laugh more, "You idiot."

As a way of getting back at his brother, George stubbornly only made tea for himself, leaving Fred to re-boil the kettle and make his own drink while he curled up in bed to play with Jester for a while. As Fred passed George's room on his way to bed, he stuck his head around the door and stuck his tongue out before slamming the door and clambering into his own bed.

Bianca groaned and rolled over the next morning. It was quite early but she managed to haul herself out of bed and get ready for work quietly. Once she had grabbed some breakfast and written the twins a note, she set off, walking to work as she did every day. She met John on the top floor and they entered a ward together. They'd barely taken two steps inside when Bianca walked into someone by the desk.

"Hey," the healer said, "I know you!"

Bianca looked up and was met with the healer who had helped Sirius last year. "Yeah," she said, "I'm that really polite visitor who asked you ever so kindly to let me and my friends visit a patient here last year."

His eyes brightened as he remembered, "Of course! I thought you were only joking when you said you'd be applying to be a healer."

"Nope," Bianca smiled, "I really was."

"She's doing really well too," John said, "Only two weeks until her exam."

"Oh, really? Which floor are you thinking of specialising in?"

"I'm not really sure yet," Bianca replied honestly, "I like the challenge of this floor, it's the most varied. But it's all interesting. I guess I'll have to see."

"Well if it helps, I love this floor. You'd fit right in, everyone is lovely."

"Thanks, I'll think about it. Although, right now, I'm not thinking about anything except exams."

"You won't have anything to worry about unless you stay here and chat all day. There's lots you need to know still," John told her sternly after returning from the desk where he signed them both in.

"Right," Bianca smiled, "I'll see you later then, erm-" she paused realising she didn't know the healer's name.

"Kyle," he laughed, "Have a good day."

Bianca spent the rest of the day stuck in one room, learning the more complex spells and parts of the floor. For the rest of the week, she was working with patients and the final week before her exam was spent going over things from the past year that she was unsure of or felt needed reinforcing.

Her first couple of exams were all written. Obviously, she needed to be tested on a large variety of things so that it was clear she knew what she was doing in practically every situation. After the papers, she had to spend a day unaccompanied on each floor treating a mixture of real patients and moderators with fake wounds. Her job was to identify the real injuries and then- if they _were_ genuine- what they were and how to fix them. For the more serious injuries, she was observed as she worked with a team of other healers. This way, she was tested on her knowledge, ability to work in different conditions, teamwork skills and how she dealt with patients. At the beginning of the tests, she had been feeling confident, but gradually as they progressed, she became more and more nervous. She just wanted to know if she'd passed- she desperately wanted a bit of good news in amongst the fear they were all living in.

In the few days she had between finishing her final exam and finding out her results, she was allowed time off. She liked to keep herself distracted in as many ways as possible doing chores around the flat or helping the boys in the shop. They also ventured out further into Muggle London a few more times and explored outside of their usual areas.

One day, when they had been out as far as the river Thames and even gone on the strange underground system with trains, they got back to the flat to find two letters on the table. Bianca immediately recognised one as being from St Mungo's and bit her lip nervously as she picked it up and turned to face the twins.

"I don't want to open it," she said, holding it out for one of them to take, "You do it."

George shook his head, "It's addressed to you. It's your letter."

"I don't want to read it," she said stubbornly, "Just open it and tell me if it's good or bad."

They stood for a few minutes just staring at each other stubbornly. Eventually, the twins won and Bianca pulled the letter into her chest before carefully prising it open. Fred and George watched her carefully as her eyes flicked over the lines. Neither of them had even a flicker of doubt that she had passed- she'd worked too hard for too long not to. Before they knew it, she was throwing herself at them, holding her letter up victoriously. The only time they'd seen her smile so widely was when she'd seen the shop for the first time.

"I did it!" Bianca cried, tears of joy streaming down her face, "I'm a healer!"

"Yes!" George spun her around and lifted her high up into the air, "You're amazing!" He kissed her on the cheek and grinned.

She giggled as Fred plucked her right out of George's arms and completely engulfed her in a hug. He could feel her jumping up and down excitedly which made kissing her forehead quite a difficult task that he only just managed without getting headbutted in the face. When he let her go, she started running about the flat like an excited dog, only stopping occasionally to shout, "I'm a healer!" and then continue on her victory lap.

Once she'd finally used all of her energy and collapsed onto the sofa, George threw the other letter at her, "Who's that one from, then?"

Bianca peeled it open and scanned what was written, "It's from John," she told them, "He just wanted to congratulate me and wish me all the best."

"That's nice of him," Fred said.

Bianca nodded, "I'll have to send him something as a thank you."

"Later," George told her, "Right now, we need to go and tell mum. She'll be over the moon."


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

They didn't quite receive the welcome they'd hoped for upon arrival at the Burrow to tell everyone the good news. As soon as George appeared in the fireplace, he was whisked away by his mother into the kitchen where most of the Order of the Phoenix was crowded as well as Ron and Hermione. Sirius was standing in the corner dejectedly, arms folded. Mrs Weasley soon came back in with Fred in tow, "I'm glad you're here boys, although you are a bit late."

"Late?" Fred said, "Late for what?"

"The meeting about getting Harry," Ron said as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"That's today?" George exclaimed. Both twins had completely forgotten that they were meant to be at the Burrow anyway that night. They hadn't even informed Bianca yet.

"Yes, that's today," Ron snapped, "Is that not why you're here?"

"No," Fred said, "We came because-"

"Hello?" Bianca voice rang through the Burrow, "Where is everyone?" Her head appeared in the doorway of the kitchen and the confusion on her face switched to surprise. "What's going on?"

"Boys!" Mrs Weasley scolded, "You weren't meant to bring Bianca!"

"Lovely to see you too," Bea mumbled.

"Never mind, you're here now, go and stand with Sirius."

"Come join the unwanted crew," Sirius waved at her from his position at the sink.

"What's happening?" she asked him quietly as the group began a hushed discussion.

"They're going to fetch Harry from Privet Drive tomorrow," Sirius told her grimly, "They have some elaborate plan but don't want us coming. Didn't the twins tell you?"

Bianca shook her head, "I guess they must have had a reason to, though. Why don't they want us there?"

"It's dangerous," he said simply, "If they get ambushed, you and Harry would be first in line to get hurt. Obviously they can't stop Harry from going otherwise there'd be no mission but everyone decided it was best if you stayed behind."

"I love how they got my opinion on that," she muttered sarcastically, "Surely if the point is to rescue Harry, then it'd be good to have me there as a distraction."

"Great for Harry," Sirius said, "Not so much for you, though. I think I speak for everyone when I say we don't want you getting killed."

"So they want all the rest of my family to go off flying heroically and me to sit here like a lemon?"

Sirius shrugged, "You're not the only one. Ginny's very annoyed your mother won't let her go."

"I'm not surprised. Why aren't you going?"

"If something went wrong I could end up back in prison."

"Oh, yeah. Heaven forbid you go to prison when one of them could get killed instead. That's so much better," she shook her head, "No offence."

He laughed, "I agree with you. I'd rather spend the rest of life in Azkaban if it meant I knew everyone would get back safely. They've been having loads of secret meetings about it, apparently. I'm only here tonight because I followed Remus and tried to make them let me go."

"I'm guessing that didn't go too well?"

"Nope. They've formed the entire plan around us. Now we have no choice because we could mess it up if we went."

Bianca jumped up onto the bench and sat swinging her legs, trying to catch a glance of the plans on the table. Hagrid repositioned himself so that she couldn't see what they were all huddled around. "Unbelievable," she muttered.

"It's great, isn't it," Sirius laughed, "I've tried about ten times to contribute, but every time I try, I get glared at as if I'm a murderer."

Bianca rolled her eyes, "All of this just for Harry. He's not that special."

Sirius snorted, and she continued jokingly, "We should really just leave him there and let him make his own way for the wedding. The Death Eaters certainly wouldn't be expecting that."

The pair moved into the living room for a comfier seat, still straining their ears for any bits of information they could catch. As one point, Ginny appeared from upstairs and joined them on the sofa. What was probably hours later, the kitchen door opened and the order streamed in. Fred and George smiled guiltily at Bea while Mrs Weasley spoke sternly to her, "You need to come over with the boys tomorrow and you'll stay here while everyone is away with me, Ginny and Sirius."

"As if I'd be anywhere else," Bianca said.

"You can stay until the wedding if you'd like," she continued.

"Isn't it lucky I don't start work until next week," Bianca said sarcastically, "I'd be missing so much by being here I'd be fired before I'd even started."

"Started?" Mrs Weasley repeated, "But you've been there for a year?"

"As a trainee," Bianca said, "I'll be starting as a qualified Level 2 healer next week. That's why we came- to tell you I passed my exams!"

Bianca suddenly found herself completely surrounded by people hugging and congratulating her. Bill ruffled her hair affectionately as though she were a little girl and told her he was very proud.

"Oh, my dear I'm so sorry!" Mrs Weasley cried, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug, "I just couldn't figure out why the boys had bought you over. And to think, I was so rude!"

"It's ok, mum," Bianca smiled, "You didn't know. Something tells me the twins have some explaining to do, though."

"We forgot all about the meeting," Fred said honestly, "We were going to explain everything to you but you were so caught up with your training that we forgot! It really is just coincidence that you found out on the same night as the meeting. Otherwise we wouldn't have turned up at all."

"That wouldn't have been the first time," Lupin laughed, clapping Bianca on the back as a congratulation.

George shrugged, "We have a very successful business that needs running! It's not our fault if we forget a few things."

"How long has this been going on? How many meetings have you had?"

"About a month or so," Mr Weasley said.

Bianca raised her eyebrows at the twins who looked to the floor sheepishly.

"We'll all meet back here tomorrow afternoon," Mad-Eye growled as people started queuing to use the Floo. Soon, the only people left were Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Bianca and the twins.

"We're very proud of you," Mrs Weasley said tearfully, "I always knew you could do it."

"It's a good job you got your letter today," Ron said.

"Why?"

"Because otherwise, Fred and George would have forgotten to come tomorrow and the plan to get Harry would have been ruined."

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Firstly," Fred said, "We aren't that stupid. We would have remembered at some point."

"Probably," George added, "And secondly, I'm glad you thought of how great this is for Bea and didn't just think about how important it is for us to go and get Boy Wonder."

"Yeah," Fred said, "The fact Bianca just got her dream job isn't important at all. At least you're reassured now that we'll all be here tomorrow."

"Hey!" Bianca stopped them, "Getting Harry is important, Fred. Technically he's right."

The twins huffed, "He could have at least said 'well done' to you."

Bianca turned to Mrs Weasley and gave her another hug, "We'd best get going. See you tomorrow."

When the three got back to their flat, Bianca turned to the twins, a smirk on her face, "A month? You forgot to tell me every time you've seen me for a month?"

"Oops?" was all either of them could think to say.

Bianca chuckled and pulled them both down onto the sofa with her so they sat squished up in a line.

"I wish I was going with you," she said, "I want to know you're safe."

"You can't, Bea," George said, "If something does go wrong and there are Death Eaters there, they'd kill you in a heartbeat."

"Why wouldn't the same apply to you?"

"We have a plan," Fred explained, "Six of us are all taking Polyjuice potion to become Harry. They won't know which one is the real one."

"What's stopping them from killing all of you?" Bianca asked, "They're not going to waste time trying to figure it so they make sure they only kill Harry. They don't care who they hurt."

"It just gives us a better chance," George said, "It means they won't all be firing curses at one person."

"What if one of you gets hurt? I could help!"

"You can't be with everyone at once," Fred laughed, "We're all going in separate directions and taking separate portkeys home. It's best you're waiting for us there so if anyone is injured, we'll know you're there."

"Can we stay together tonight?" Bianca asked quietly.

"Bea," George said gently, "We're going to be fine."

"I know," Bianca said, "I know, I just- It'll make me feel better."

The twins nodded, "Ok."

None of them made the effort to move. They stayed sitting exactly where they were, fully dressed until George's head fell to one side and Fred's lolled back onto the back of the sofa. Bianca smiled softly and carefully extracted herself to gently remove their shoes and carefully slide their jackets off. She quickly put everything away, grabbed a blanket and crawled back onto the sofa. George sleepily wrapped his arms around her and Fred opened one eye drowsily to look at her.

"I'm proud of you," he slurred, "You're going to be the best healer ever."

Bianca smiled and rested her head on his chest. He placed a small kiss to her temple as she snuggled into him and took hold of George's hand.

None of them slept particularly well, plagued with anticipation of the coming mission. Fred woke up startled multiple times throughout the night, scared by a thought which had popped into his head while he rested. Each time he'd look across at George, ensuring he was sleeping safely and peacefully before settling down again. Bianca, meanwhile, slept lightly and while she was unaware of Fred's regular movements, she had a constant feeling of anxiety nagging at her chest that made it feel like she hadn't slept at all. George awoke extremely early, brain already full of doubts about what they'd signed up to. He calmed slightly once he knew Fred was by his side but couldn't relax fully so sat silently on the sofa, tapping his foot. When he'd been up for a few hours, he carefully stood up and headed to the kitchen area where he started work on breakfast slowly. He nearly laughed when Fred jerked awake half an hour later and looked around in panic for his brother, until he saw the true fear in his twin's eyes. "Fred," George said, "I'm here, it's ok."

Fred's shoulders sagged, as relief flooded him. Bianca opened her eyes groggily and looked at them. She immediately asked what was wrong, feeling the tension in Fred and taking in the sad looks. The twins shook it off quickly and reassured themselves before smiling at Bianca.

"I just can't believe George got up early to cook us breakfast," Fred joked, knowing Bea knew exactly what was wrong, "He's not a morning person."

"No breakfast for Freddie," George noted, "I guess Bianca and I will have to have more. Extra egg, Bea?"

Bianca laughed and got to her feet to make some tea. The boys didn't fully relax all day. Bianca could see when they were working that they were always within eyesight of each other and regularly glanced over under the pretence of telling a joke for entertainment of their customers. Only she could see how Fred's forced smile became genuine when he saw his brother or how George's chest deflated as he sighed in relief when his eyes fell on Fred. This continued all day. If Fred went into the office to grab something, George would go and talk to a customer who happened to be browsing next to the door. If George went to work on the tills, Fred would busy himself stocking shelves behind the counter. Bianca watched the two with endearment. She thought it was exceptionally sweet how they were acting- as if they were connected by a stretchy piece of rope.

They closed the shop and locked up sharply so they could run up to the flat to get changed. Bianca made sure she had her wand and a couple of essential potions with her just in case before she followed the twins to the Burrow. As she'd done the previous day, she sat with Sirius and Ginny in the living room while the order went over their final plans. Ginny had tear tracks down her cheeks as a result of her latest attempt to try and go. Sirius had his jaw clenched tightly and was fiddling with his fingers. When everyone was preparing to leave, Mrs Weasley stood quiet in the corner, shaking slightly. Fred, George, Bianca, Lupin and Sirius stood a little apart from the group.

"I'll look after him," Lupin promised Bianca as George reassured Sirius that he had Lupin's back. Bea had one arm around each twin, holding them close to her and Sirius had an arm draped over Remus' shoulder protectively.

"You all have to come back," Bianca said sternly, "Or I'll be cross."

"She's scary when she's cross," Sirius said, "I'll hide the chocolate frogs and the pillows."

"There's no need for that," Lupins said with a smile, "Because we're all going to be fine."

"If you're not, do I have permission to throw as many chocolate frogs at you as I can possibly find?" Bianca asked.

"Oh, most definitely."

The group chuckled quietly just as Moddy called for them all to gather outside to leave. Bianca hung back in the doorway with Ginny. Sirius placed on hand on each of their shoulders as he watched from behind. Mrs Weasley was rushing around the group, kissing all of her family as well as Hermione and Fleur goodbye. Bianca locked eyes with Fred and George and winked at them. The three held eye contact until the group disapparated and four worried faces were left behind.

For a few minutes, they waited outside, as though hoping they'd all come back immediately. But when Ginny started shivering slightly, Sirius guided the girls back into the house. Mrs Weasley seemed to have a list of jobs to do to keep herself occupied while everyone was gone. Bianca wondered vaguely if the last thing on that list was to fix the hole in the floor which Sirius was sure to make if he didn't stop pacing back and forth by the door. Ginny curled up on the sofa silently so Bianca sat with her, wrapping her sister in a hug. All Bianca could think about were the bottles of healing potions in her coat pocket and how she desperately hoped they would stay there until she could put them back in their cupboard at the flat. She could feel Ginny's head resting heavily in the crook of her neck and assumed her sister must have dropped off as she was so still.

She was proved wrong, however, when there was a slight 'whoosh' noise from the garden and Ginny immediately leapt to her feet and ran out the door with Sirius. Mrs Weasley was already there- she must have been waiting, already knowing the time everyone was meant to come back. She was staring sadly at a rusty oilcan which lay on its side.

"That was Ron and Tonks'," she said with a sniffle.

"It doesn't mean anything," Sirius said kindly, "We could have just underestimated how long it took to reach it from Harry's."

"Or it could mean something went wrong," Ginny said bluntly.

Sirius looked at Bianca helplessly.

"Exactly," Bianca said, "It could mean either of those things. Or it could mean that they got lost along the way. Or that they got there but weren't holding onto it. We don't know what it means so there's no point worrying about it. For all we know, they could come back any second, smiling."

Unfortunately for them, the only thing that came back was a second portkey without anyone in tow. The plimsoll flopped uselessly to the ground next to Bianca. Mrs Weasley gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Bianca refused to let herself panic. She knew full well that Fred should have been back with Mr Weasley and that shoe, but couldn't afford to crumble now. It would be awfully unfair to leave Sirius to deal with three emotional women. Instead, she guided Mrs Weasley across the yard, whispering reassuringly while Ginny followed, dragging her feet. Sirius stayed in the yard, staring at the lonely portkeys.

Bea had only just got her mum sat down when there was a third whoosing noise and Ginny leapt up. "Harry."

All three bolted outside and Bianca practically collapsed in relief when she saw Sirius helping Harry up and wrapping him in a hug. Bea reached the group as Ginny was explaining that the next pair should be back any second and Hagrid downed a bottle of brandy.

"Mum!" Ginny cried, pointing to a glowing light a few feet away from them.

Bianca allowed herself to get hopeful for a few seconds until it was blatantly obvious that something was wrong. Lupin and George were there together, but Lupin was fully supporting George's dead weight as he slumped forward, unconscious. Bianca's heart sank as Harry ran forward and grabbed George's legs. Sirius took her arm and pulled her into the house. She knew she couldn't panic. She was trained to deal with high pressure situations like this! The fact it was someone she cared about shouldn't change things. She shook her head and ran over to where Lupin and Harry were carefully placing George. Bea grabbed her coat and knelt by George, faltering slightly when she saw in the light the extent of the damage. Ginny gasped next to her and Harry turned a horrible shade of green. George's entire ear was missing from the side of his head. From then, she was completely focused on healing George and ignored the conversations happening around her.

Mrs Weasley trembled next to her. She and Ginny hovering was slightly off-putting, but there was no point asking them to move- Bianca knew they wouldn't.

"Can you fix it?" Ginny asked her quietly, tears running down her face, "Can you get it back?"

Bianca dipped her head sadly as an answer. She'd managed to clean up most of the blood and was trying to put a stop to the bleeding. "It's been cursed off," she explained, barely even a whisper, "There's not a chance."

"How is he?" Harry asked from behind them.

"I can't make it grow back, not when it's been removed by dark magic. But it could have been so much worse… he's alive."

Bianca continued working, until her heart skipped when she heard her father. "I'll prove who I am, Kingsley, when I've seen my son, now back off if you know what's good for you!"

She looked up as Fred appeared in the doorway, looking horrified as he saw his brother lying so helplessly on the sofa. George groaned slightly, seemingly awoken by his brother's presence.

"George," Bianca breathed.

"How do you feel, Georgie?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Saint-like," came the murmur of a response.

Fred's eyes widened in fear, "What's wrong with him? Is his mind affected?" She'd never seen him look so full of horror.

"Saint-like," George mumbled drowsily again, "You see… I'm holy. Holey, Fred, geddit?"

Bianca grinned and rested her head in his arms. Fred's complexion went from white to painted with colour in a matter of seconds.

"Pathetic," Fred held back a laugh, "Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humour before you, you go for holey?"

Bianca giggled, allowing herself a few moments to relax before finishing dressing George's wound. By the time she had finished, Bill, Fleur, Ron and Tonks were back and everyone was gathered in the living room, sipping firewhiskey sadly, mourning Mad-Eye. Bianca's drink sat forgotten on the floor next to her as she looked after George so Fred took it upon himself to drink it for her. She didn't mind because she could see the concern he was hiding behind his joking mask.

Night descended slowly and George had drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Most of the adults were huddled in the kitchen and only Bianca and Fred were left with George. Fred's smile dropped the minute George's eyes closed and he fell to his knees, breathing heavily. "My heart has never beat so fast in my life."

"He's ok, Fred," Bianca told him gently, "I promise."

"I know he's ok," Fred grinned, "But we'll never be able to trick people into thinking I'm George and he's Fred."

"You're two of the smartest wizards on the planet. Especially when it comes to pranking," Bianca said, "I'm sure if you really wanted, you could think of a way to pull off a simple prank like that."

"I'll let him have his attention now, though," Fred smiled, "He'll soak up the fuss from mum."

"That may be but we'll be stuck here until she's sure he's alright," Bianca said, "You can't open the shop."

Fred shrugged, "George is a priority. I think the shop's doing well enough to give us a few days off." He crossed his arms and rested them on the sofa seat, taking George's hand in his. Bianca suddenly gasped, "I never asked if you were ok!"

Fred chucked wearily, "I'm fine, Bea. Just tired."

She nodded and got to her feet so she could cross the room and enter the kitchen. Tonks, Sirius and Hagrid were slumped at the table. Mr Weasley was trying to stop Mrs Weasley as she was rushing around the kitchen. Fleur was standing looking out the window.

"Where are Bill and Remus?"

"Not back yet," Sirius replied shortly.

"Zey should 'ave waited unteel eet vas safer," Fleur said, her jaw clenched.

"How's George?" Mr Weasley turned to Bianca, immediately catching Mrs Weasley's attention.

"Fine. He's ok. I left Fred with him."

Mrs Weasley bit her lip nervously and peeked into to living room. She turned back, smiling softly, tears in her eyes, "They're both asleep."

"They didn't sleep properly last night," Bianca said, "And they've spent all day worrying."

A heavy silence fell upon the kitchen until the door opened and Lupin appeared with Bill. Sirius and Tonks shot to their feet while Fleur spun around.

"We couldn't find it," Lupin said, "The body's gone."

"We looked," Bill wrapped his arm around Fleur's waist, "But it's nowhere to be found."

"We'd best be off then," Tonks took Lupin's hand, "We can keep looking and will drop in here and check everyone regularly."

"I'd best be off too," Hagrid towered over everyone as he got to his feet.

Mrs Weasley ushered them all past the twins' sleeping figures and into the yard to thank them and say goodbye. Bill and Fleur decided to stay at the Burrow over night and vanished upstairs together. Bianca settled on the sofa opposite to where George lay. She watched as Fred would look up every so often and wait until he was reassured by the rise and fall of his twin's chest before lowering his head again. She loved they boys' affectionate side. They didn't show it very often, instead behaving as their usual fun-loving, happy selves. But every so often, the jokes were pushed aside and the pure love they held for their family and friends shone through instead. Bianca thought it was extraordinarily sweet, and fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

The next few days were extremely hectic at the Burrow. Order members were constantly coming in and out with updates. Mrs Weasley was caught up in wedding preparations with Bill and Fleur. Sirius came over daily to check on Harry and make sure he was still there and everyone was rushing around cleaning and tidying. The morning after rescuing Harry began with a very gloomy atmosphere. Fred and George did everything they could to reduce the sadness but neither of them had been quite as successful as they had hoped.

No one saw much of Harry, Ron or Hermione. They stayed hidden in Ron's room planning their mission for Dumbledore. A couple of days before the wedding, Mr Weasley ventured into the attic with Fred, George and Bianca to transfigure the ghoul to look like Ron. Bea had always been slightly wary of the ghoul so watched from the side while her dad wrestled it into Ron's dressing gown and the twins placed a few charms on it to make it ginger. The ghoul was strangely accepting of this which was not expected; it stayed perfectly still while Fred distorted its appearance and didn't budge when a ginger wig was forced onto it.

"We'll move it down to Ron's room tomorrow," Mr Weasley said as they descended the stairs to join everyone else.

"Where'll Ron and Harry stay?" George asked.

"I'm afraid they might have to bunk in your room and we'll move Bianca in with Ginny and Hermione."

"What? Why?"

"Well Fleur and her little sister will be in Percy's room and Bill and Charlie will stay together in their old room so Fleur's parents can have ours."

"Where will you sleep?" Bianca asked.

"Down here, I expect."

"We could go back and stay in the flat," Fred offered.

"Nonsense," Mrs Weasley said, "You'll stay here with everyone else. I want to keep an eye on George."

"Mum," George sighed exasperatedly, "I'm fine. You know I'm fine. And we'll just sleep there and come back during the day."

Mrs Weasley was adamant, "No. I want everyone here."

"It's so she can get us to clean more stuff at least seven more times before Fleur's parents get here," Fred muttered once he thought their mother was out of earshot.

"Dust the mantle piece!" Mrs Weasley shouted at him.

Bianca smirked and sat George down on the sofa to re-dress his ear. She'd done this a couple of times partially to check it was healing properly but mostly to stop Mrs Weasley from fussing. She had so much going on with Harry's birthday the next day and wedding the day after that, everyone was doing the best they could to keep out of her way and make sure she wasn't too stressed.

Later that night, Bianca and Harry were summoned to the kitchen to have a serious conversation with Mr and Mrs Weasley.

"We've been thinking about the wedding," Mrs Weasley said, "We think it would be safest for the two of you to take some Polyjuice potion just in case any unwanted visitors drop in."

Harry didn't seem particularly bothered by this proposition- he didn't want to be stuck at the Burrow with everyone, he wanted to be out saving the world so any conversation held with him ended with grumpy, half-hearted responses. Bianca, however, was not quite so easily persuaded.

"What? No! I don't want to be someone else at my own brother's wedding!"

"We know you don't want to, dear," Mr Weasley said gently, "But it's safest. You and Harry both need protecting. Bill won't mind."

"Everyone is at risk," Bianca protested, "We're all in danger, but no one else has to change their appearance."

"Just because you'll look like someone else, doesn't mean you're going to be someone else," Mr Weasley told her, "We just want you to be safe."

Bianca huffed, "Who'll we be transfiguring into?"

"We sent Fred into the village to fetch some hairs. Harry will pretend to be a relative of ours and you'll be one of Fleur's friends."

Bianca scowled, "Fine."

She left the kitchen and went to find George who was also sulking because Mrs Weasley hadn't let him go to the village with Fred, 'just in case'.

"I hate being Voldemort's daughter," Bianca flopped onto her bed, crossing her arms across her chest. George propped himself up on his elbow.

"Isn't it lucky you have the two most awesome brothers in the world, then?" he said.

"Yeah, Bill and Charlie are really cool," Bianca smirked.

"Will you ever not use that joke?" George asked, slightly offended.

"Joke? What joke?"

"That Bill and Charlie are better than me and Fred."

"That's no joke, Georgie."

"Rubbish," George said, "Fred and I are the best people in this house!"

"If you say so," Bianca smiled cheekily, "Speaking of Charlie, mum says he should be arriving tomorrow."

"Oh excellent," George said sarcastically, "Fred and I will get ready to be ignored, then."

"I won't ignore you!" Bianca said, "There's only a certain amount of times you can hear about how Charlie nearly got killed by a dragon before it gets boring. Besides, he'll probably spend all his time with Bill doing boring wedding things."

George snorted, "I was only kidding," he said, "I'm excited to see him too."

Bianca could see George was getting jittery. He was fidgeting with his fingers a lot and constantly repositioning himself.

"He won't be long," Bianca said, guessing what was wrong, "He only went to the village."

Fred and George had only very rarely been seen in different rooms since the mission to Privet Drive. For the first few days, Fred had been especially clingy towards George but gradually, they'd become as bad as each other. If Fred went to get a glass of water, George would get up, saying he was hungry. When George got tired and went up to bed, Fred would jump to his feet, claiming he too was exhausted despite being notably wide awake. Now, however, Fred had gone all the way to the village alone and George didn't know what to do with himself.

"I don't know what's taking so long," George said, peering out the window, "He was only meant to go to the edge of the village and summon the hairs from there."

"I'm sure that's exactly what he's done," Bianca said patiently. When George didn't reply, she decided to change the subject, "Apparently Sirius and Lupin are coming tomorrow with Tonks and Hagrid for Harry's birthday," she said, "That's exciting."

"Sirius has been over every day," George said, "Why is that special now?"

"Well it's certainly cheered Harry up," Bianca sighed, "It'll be nice having everyone here to celebrate."

Sensing George was not in the mood to continue conversing with her, Bianca selected a book from her shelf and took it downstairs to curl up on the armchair there. She stayed there for hours- much longer than she intended to when she settled down. In fact, it was only when she woke up there the next morning, book wide open on the floor next to her having fallen out of her hand, that she realised how long she _had_ been there. There were blankets and pillows on the sofas, signs that Mr and Mrs Weasley had joined her at some point during the night as they had given up their room for Fleur's parents.

Bianca yawned, stretched and hauled herself off the chair. All her joints clicked and ached after being stuck in one position for so many hours but she ignored them and joined those who were up in the kitchen.

"Happy birthday, Harry," she said cheerily as she set about making herself some tea. Harry thanked her quickly as he left the already crowded kitchen with Ron and Hermione.

Bianca quickly made three cups of tea and three pieces of buttered toast and manoeuvred out of the kitchen up the stairs to the twins' room, breakfast floating next to her. Fred and George were both still fast asleep sprawled out across their beds ungracefully. She smirked as the drinks set themselves down on their bedside tables and sat on her own bed to wait. The smell of food was always enough to stir the boys, so it didn't take long for them both to open their eyes groggily and sit up.

"Morning!" Bianca said loudly.

Fred winced and pushed his hair out of his face to look at her, "Where were you last night?"

"I fell asleep downstairs accidently," she explained, "I was reading because Georgie wasn't really in the mood to talk to me last night."

George rolled over, "I didn't mean to offend you so much that you felt the need to sleep downstairs."

"Why was George in a bad mood?"

"He was in a huff because he couldn't go to the village with you."

"Awh, Georgie," Fred teased, "I didn't know you cared so much."

"Bianca, slap him for me." Bea happily obliged.

"Hey!" he protested.

"You made him worried!" Bianca said, "You were late back."

"I walked straight there and straight back," Fred said, "I can't apparate with all the wards up around here, especially into a Muggle village."

"It doesn't matter now," George groaned, sipping his tea, "You're back."

The three spent the day decorating for Harry's birthday. Fred and George liked to sneak up on the poor boy at random points throughout the day and either sing loudly to him or blow party poppers right next to him face. Harry didn't seem to mind, although it must have got annoying after a while.

Bianca left them to it and spent the day helping Mrs Weasley in the kitchen or chatting to Charlie, who had been forced into having his haircut as soon as he'd walked through the door. When Mr Weasley sent a message later that evening, telling them the Minister for Magic was accompanying him home, Lupin, Tonks and Sirius all regretfully left, much to Harry's disappointment. Wanting to avoid anything to do with the ministry, Bianca ran into the house and hid with the twins until he'd left.

The next morning, everyone was up very early and being bossed about by Mrs Weasley before the sun had even risen properly. Everyone had their own set of jobs to do before getting ready for the ceremony. Bianca and Harry had gotten changed and met Mr Weasley in the kitchen to take their large doses of Polyjuice potion. Fred and George had watched with amused smirks until their mother had told them off and ordered them to keep an eye on Bea all day to make sure she was safe. Bianca had rolled her eyes as the twin's saluted Mrs Weasley formally and frog-marched Bianca away.

"You look weird," George told her.

"Why thank you," Bianca said sarcastically, "It's a new look I'm trying out- random girl from Muggle village."

Fred snorted, "Come on, mum wants us to help Ron and Harry show guests to their seats."

Of course, by 'showing people to their seats', the boys meant 'flirt with Fleur's Veela cousins'. Bianca sighed and busied herself with helping fix the damage Hagrid had accidently caused by sitting in the wrong place. It felt very strange not being able to talk to anyone she knew without first establishing who she was. Several times, she had to remind someone who was looking for her that she was right next to them.

The wedding was beautiful. Bianca sat between Fred and, to her dismay, Aunt Muriel, so had to endure rude comments from one side and the twins pretending to cry hysterically from the other.

"You're both idiots," she hissed at them, when they were wrapped in each other's arms and dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs at the end of the wedding.

"How dare you! It's very emotional," George sniffed indignantly.

Bianca slapped him across the back of the head. Muriel gasped next to her, "Ladies should not be violent towards their partners," she said in horror, "Fred, control your girlfriend."

George slapped his forehead in dismay, "I'm not Fred," he told her angrily, "And she isn't my girlfriend."

"Hm," Muriel studied Bianca, "Good," she decided, "You're not built properly, and your face is wonky."

"I would be offended," Bianca whispered to George, "Except she's not insulting me."

"She's never liked you, though," Fred said, as Muriel hobbled away to insult someone else, "You're not a proper Weasley."

Bianca shook her head, "Imagine how much she'd hate me now."

"That's probably where she's gone," George speculated, "To find you and kill you with her handbag."

The three danced with each other all night, laughing and smiling. At one point, Charlie and Bill came over to dance with Bea, so Fred took George in his arms and they slow danced together, pulling fake lovey-gooey eyes at each other. Charlie pulled Bianca to one side, "Your potion is wearing off," he told her quietly with a serious look on his face.

Bianca glanced down. Her dress was starting to hang off the frame, and she could feel her facial features shifting. "I'll go and see if mum has some more," she smiled and weaved her way through the crowds to Mrs Weasley, who was deep in conversation. Bianca gestured desperately to her morphing appearance and her mother mouthed, 'kitchen'. Bea ran into the Burrow and burst into the kitchen, looking around for the vial. Just as she'd wrapped her hand around the bottle, she realised something was wrong outside. The previously bubbly, loud atmosphere was deadly silent, but she could see people rushing around in chaos.

Outside, Fred and George were fighting their way through the hoard of panicked guests in the direction of the house. Their wands were drawn and they were running side by side, eyes wide.

"Fred! George!" Their heads snapped towards Charlie who had called them. "She's inside," he called, "Make sure she's safe."

Finally, the twins managed to get into the Burrow and crashed right into Bianca as she was dashing out.

"Go upstairs," Fred said, grabbing her arm, "Quickly."

"What's going on?"

"They're here," George said frantically, "Death Eaters are here. You have to hide."

Bianca's face blanched and she allowed Fred to drag her up the stairs and into Ron's room where the ghoul was already lying in his bed.

"Get underneath the bed," George pushed her down, "Stay still and quiet. They won't find you here."

Bianca had to admit it was a clever plan. If the Death Eaters did check Ron's room, they'd be satisfied that he was ill with Spattergroit and not come any closer in fear of catching the contagious disease. She lay flat on her back, listening as the door closed and Fred and George's footsteps retreated downstairs. She wished she could be helping outside, and felt guilty hiding while everyone else was at risk. All she could do was hope that Harry had gotten away and that everyone downstairs was safe. In her hopes to remain silent, she was sure her breathing could be heard across the hill and her heartbeat was like a group of African drummers. She could hear people moving around downstairs- presumably the Death Eaters were searching the house and questioning her family. Presumably it wasn't going too badly- Bianca couldn't hear any screaming or shouting which was either very good or very, very bad. There were some muffled voices, which were very gradually getting closer to Ron's attic room as they checked everywhere. She could hear crashes and slamming doors as they looked in wardrobes, drawers and probably under beds. Finally, Ron's door creaked open and light flooded in.

Bianca forced herself not to tense, hold her breath or push up against the wall. Any movement could bring attention to her.

"He has spattergroit," Mrs Weasley's wobbly voice came, "He's been ill for months."

Footsteps started forward. "Be careful," she said, "He's very contagious."

"I won't be long." Bianca could see the man's feet about a meter away from Ron's bed as he inspected the figure huddled under the covers. Hopefully, the purple pustules and peculiar complexion would be enough to convince them.

"And you say he hasn't heard from Potter since school ended?"

"No," Mrs Weasley said, "We don't know where he is."

The Death Eater seemed sceptical, possibly because they'd either been at or heard of the battle when Harry was rescued from Privet drive.

"What about the girl?"

Mrs Weasley sighed sadly, "She left after Dumbledore died," she lied, "She didn't even tell us where she was going."

Bianca wondered if her mother knew where she was currently hiding or if Fred and George had kept it secret. Eventually, the Death Eater left, the door closed and she was left alone in darkness with the ghoul grunting sadly above her. It was hours of torture later when finally the door opened again and Fred's face appeared, looking at her under the bed.

"You can come out now," he told her, "They're gone."

Carefully, she rolled out and allowed Fred to help her up. He looked slightly shaken up, but uninjured and safe.

"Is everyone ok?"

He nodded, "They didn't do anything too bad. The guests were allowed to leave so they only talked to the seven of us."

"What did they do, Fred?"

"Asked us questions," he said unhelpfully, "Mostly about Harry, but you as well."

"Did they hurt anyone?" Bianca prompted. He didn't answer, so she repeated his name.

"Ginny," he said, "They hexed her until they were sure we were telling the truth."

They descended the rest of the stairs in silence. Bianca's body ached from lying under the bed for so long, but ran to Ginny as soon as she was in the living room to give her a hug before turning to Bill who was sitting forehead to forehead with Fleur and giving them both a hug too. Mrs Weasley looked shocked at Bea's sudden appearance, "Where have you been?" she demanded angrily, "We were so worried."

"I was hiding in Ron's room," Bianca explained, "It was Fred and George's idea. They thought once the Death Eaters were convinced that Ron really was sick, they wouldn't search the room."

"Well aren't you lucky they were right," Mrs Weasley said sharply, "I thought you'd left."

"I was in the house when they started attacking," Bianca explained, "I couldn't have apparated even if I wanted to. Did Harry get away?"

Mrs Weasley visibly deflated and her face fell, "Yes," she said, "They're gone."

Bianca didn't know whether to be relieved or not. Obviously, she was glad the three got away safely, but that now meant no one would hear from them for months. Mrs Weasley took a few more minutes to tell her she was stupid for staying in the house, but once Bianca reminded her that the other option would have been to run straight into the fight and be killed on sight if a Death Eater saw her, her mother calmed a little. Unlike Harry, who would have probably been taken before being murdered, Voldemort had no interest in Bianca any more. He just wanted her dead. She'd made it perfectly clear that she wouldn't join his ranks meaning that now he was scared of her power. He couldn't afford to let her live long enough to kill her himself, so his followers were meant to kill her immediately. Bianca still didn't quite understand what was so threatening about her. She wasn't old or experienced enough to really be any cause of threat to such a huge army, but the most feared man on the planet wanted her dead. The only power she'd ever experienced which was unlike any of her fellow wizards was the ability to hear snakes talking, but since the Basilisk in her fourth year, she hadn't come across any snakes to converse with. She wasn't special or even particularly good at magic so why Voldemort was after her so badly had bothered her for a long time.

Mr Weasley vanished into the yard with Charlie to see how much damage had occurred and clear up what they could. Mrs Weasley was fretting to anyone who would listen, saying things such as, "We'll have to write to everyone to make sure they got away safely and apologise."

Fleur's family were huddled in the corner, whispering quickly in French. They had all been forced to leave the celebrations to protect Gabrielle, but her parents and sister had retuned shortly after to check on everyone. Bill and Fleur were discussing their plans to stay with their families for a while before going to their new cottage to make sure everyone was safe.

Bianca was ignoring everyone, gazing out the window. Harry had wanted to leave to protect the people she cared about. Surely by staying at the Burrow, she was in the exact same position he had been. Both their names were known amongst wizards everywhere in Britain now, and most of those people thought she was responsible for her father's return and the death of Dumbledore. That gave her hundreds more people on top of the Death Eaters with her name on the top of their hit lists. This family had taken her in and loved her since she was a baby. They were the most kind, caring people she'd ever come across, and Bianca was sure she'd never meet anyone who treasured her the way the Weasleys did. Even when they'd found out who her real parents were, her family had continued to protect her and stick up for her. But she was older now. She shouldn't have to hide behind people, especially when those people are the ones she loved and respected most in the world. Why should she stay with them and put them at risk?

"If you're thinking about doing a Harry," George's voice said, "Stop it."

"Doing a Harry?" Bianca's lips turned up.

"Running away. Isolating yourself to protect the people you care about. Hiding from your family," Fred explained, "You know, everything Harry's been doing for at least two years."

"I'm not doing a Harry," Bianca turned away from them.

George raised his eyebrow, "So what are you thinking about?"

Bianca hesitated and sighed, "Ok," she admitted, "I'm doing a Harry."

Fred scowled at her, "Stop it," he said, "We want you here with us."

"But you're in danger!"

"Where would you go? What would you do?" George demanded, "Don't you see, there's nowhere else for you to be but here? We need you with us."

Bianca didn't argue, "I'm not actually going to leave," she said quietly, "I would never. But if any of you ever get hurt because of me, it would kill me."

The twins took her arms, announced they were all going to bed, and dragged her upstairs roughly.

"Do you think George's ear was Harry's fault?" Fred asked when he'd sat her on her bed.

"Of course not!" Bianca replied in shock.

"Were we protecting Harry when the incident happened?" George asked.

"Yes," Bianca said slowly, "But that has nothing to do with-"

"You're not making us protect you," Fred said sternly, "You don't force us to stay with you and look after you. We choose to do it like we choose to look after Harry because we think it's the right thing to do. I'm not saying it will happen, but if one of us were injured, it wouldn't be your fault. George doesn't blame Harry because some git blew his ear off. You're not putting us in danger. We are."

Bianca scowled, "That's not reassuring."

"This is a war, Bea," George said, "Everyone's in danger. Me, you, that random muggle that lives across the field. Whether you're with us or not, doesn't make a difference."

Bianca nodded and got up. She hugged both the twins, got changed and crawled into bed, mind still buzzing from the confusion of the day.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

"I'm afraid we just can't let you go around the hospital unsupervised. It's a huge breach of safety."

Bianca groaned for about the hundredth time that hour. She was in the middle of a meeting with some important people from St Mungo's, and was meant to be going over her future plans with them, but, once again, the prejudice against her had come to fight because they'd looked at her records and realised who she was. Now, the healer she was talking to was trying to stop her from seeing any patients or going anywhere unaccompanied.

"Look," she said patiently, despite how long they had been discussing this one matter, "I know how it seems and I don't blame you for wanting to protect yourself and the hospital, but I'm not like him. I'm not evil, I don't want to take over the world, and I certainly don't kill people for the sake of it. And before you say I could be a spy, or something equally ridiculous, perhaps you could tell me what information I would be getting from here? This is a hospital, not the ministry- there is nothing to gain from Voldemort sending one of his people here to work. I've trained a whole year for this and you can see from my exam results that I deserve this job. Kindly stop judging people based on things they can't control and get back to the discussion at hand."

"But the papers all-"

"The papers know nothing about me," Bianca snapped, "They make up lies to trick people into thinking they're safe. They let people build up their own little wall for protection, only to shoot it down when suddenly the truth is out in the open. Remember all those lies about Harry Potter and Professor Dumbledore? Now think what turned out to be false. You can't assume something's true just because it's written in a newspaper. Putting your trust in the wrong people could get you killed."

The healer glared at her for a few moments, "Fine," she huffed, "We'll put you on the top floor. There's a ward in need of an extra pair of hands. It's usually a little bit above the standards of a Level 1 healer but your trainer reckons you're up to it and your exam results don't say otherwise, so I don't see why you can't be positioned there." She shuffled her paperwork awkwardly, "Would you like to start Level 2 training immediately or wait a while to get settled in?"

"I'll start now," Bianca said decisively.

The healer scribbled something down, "Ok, so you'll mainly be positioned in a few wards on the top floor but every so often, you'll have to work elsewhere in the hospital to keep those skills up to date. This is protocol for everyone until they're at least Level 3. The Healer-in-Charge of your floor or ward will be like a mentor for you but from now on, you have to be much more independent. We'll provide you with everything you need in the form of books, but you'll need to ask for anything else. Bare in mind your Healer-in-Charge has a lot to focus on without being bombarded with questions. You'll be assessed every few months until you're ready to take your next set of exams. Understood?"

Bianca nodded, stood up and shook hands with the healer. She ran down the stairs and into the locker room to grab her things and briefly check her timetable. She sighed when she realised she had a night shift to work in a few hours. Glancing up at the clock, she decided she had enough time to go back to the flat until she had to be back so hurried home to find a strangely isolated building.

There was a small note scribbled and left on the kitchen counter informing her that Fred and George had gone to the Burrow to help tidy up after yesterday's wedding. Bianca quickly deposited her bag in her room and Flooed to the Burrow, only to be nearly mopped up by Charlie, who was brushing the floor.

"I thought it was outside that was a mess," Bianca said.

"It was," Charlie laughed, "But mum decided that there were too many people in the garden and it was too crowded so I got sent in to tidy in here."

"There's no mess," Bianca sniggered.

"I know. I've been sweeping the same spot for an hour because I don't want to do anything else. How was your meeting?"

"Urgh, I had to tell them for about the twentieth time that I wasn't planning an attack on the hospital or acting as a spy for Voldemort until we actually got anywhere." Charlie looked at her sympathetically. "But I'm working on the fourth floor now- spell damage. That's what I'm specialising in."

"When's your first shift?"

"Tonight," Bianca said, "I can't wait to actually do work without someone breathing down my neck. And I get the full wage now for my qualification."

"From what Fred and George have said, you three aren't particularly short on money," Charlie said.

"No, but it's not fair to rely on them. I live in the flat too," she sat on the arm of the sofa, "When do you go back to Romania?"

"I'm not sure. With everything going on here, I feel like I should stay, but then and again, maybe I should be trying to recruit people to fight over there. I don't like being away from everything when it's getting this serious."

"They might not recognise you if you go back after the haircut mum gave you."

Charlie chuckled, "I definitely need to see the shop before I go, though."

"You'll love it," she promised.

A few hours later, Bianca was rushing away from the Burrow to get to work on time. She cursed herself for getting carried away chatting as she ran through London, burst into the hospital, signed in and grabbed her newly green-coloured robes. After a quick glance at her timetable to check which ward she was on, she took the stairs two at a time and then paused to catch her breath before walking in calmly. The Healer-in-Charge was waiting at the desk and offered her a quick smile before introducing herself as Alma. She showed Bianca around the ward quickly, filling her in on everything and how the systems worked. When they were standing in front of a big white board, Alma pointed to where Bianca's name was written and said, "These are the patients you're responsible for when you're on shift. All the information you need is in their files here or by their beds, but if you have any questions come and find me or one of the other healers. Ok?"

Bianca smiled, "Fine, thank you."

She took a few minutes to associate herself with the long-staying patients and their conditions before setting about working. It was a very simple system to get used to. Different names on the board were colour-coded differently. Black was for the long-staying overnight patients while blue showed the people had dropped in quickly to get a simple problem sorted but weren't in serious danger. For those names, the Healer assigned to them had to visit them whenever they had some spare time. Every so often a red name would appear across multiple Healer's columns, which meant the situation was serious and everyone had to go and help. Within the first few days, Bianca saw a whole range of ailments, some of which were quite funny and she had to fight to keep a straight face and others were life-threatening.

She got on very well with her colleagues and happy to see a familiar face in Kyle, the Healer who had helped them save Sirius the previous year. She was especially close with him and another young girl named Daisy who had been very welcoming and helpful from the second she met Bianca. It was easy to forget that a war was brewing in the outside when you spent all day treating people whose faces had been morphed into frogs or had been nearly killed by a multitude of hexes. Bianca loved how different every shift was. On other floors, there were only a certain amount of animals to get scratched by or plants to be poisoned by. But up on the fourth floor, there was an infinite number of hexes, spells, curses or jinxes to be hit by in all different combinations. It was so thrilling and satisfying to help so many people. She laughed her way through night shifts with Kyle or Daisy and found it easy to put on an encouraging smile for patients for whom it must be horrible to be stuck in a hospital bed all day.

About once a week, she had to go and get experience on other floors, which she didn't enjoy as much because no one there knew her as well, but it was important to keep other skills up to date, so Bianca didn't mind.

"Where were you last night?" Daisy had asked her one afternoon when she entered the ward, "I though you said you had night shift."

"I did," Bianca smiled, "Downstairs."

Daisy was extremely smiley and always happy. Bianca had never seen her in a bad mood, not even after a long, painful night shift. The girls bounced off each other easily, providing light-hearted entertainment for everyone working late. "I missed you," she said, "So did Mr Rhodes."

Bianca cringed at the mention of the patient she had been tending to for a few days. He had taken a strange liking to his Healer and didn't miss an opportunity for some creepy, shameless flirting. "Ew," she said, "I'll have to go and see him now." She ducked into the supply cupboard to put together Mr Rhodes medicine and, desperately hoping he was resting.

Unfortunately for her, he was wide awake and already grinning at her.

She sighed inwardly but smiled kindly for him, "Good afternoon, Mr Rhodes," she said sweetly, "How are you feeling today?"

"Oh, much better now," he winked.

Bianca tried not to gag, "I'm glad to hear that," she said, handing him his potion and picking up his file. "I just need to check that the swelling's going down around your leg, is that ok?"

Rhodes moved his blanket off his body a little too enthusiastically to show her his bare legs. He'd been hit by a nasty severing curse combined with a hive-conjuring spell just below which had been very gruesome to look at to begin with but was thankfully healing nicely now. She carefully applied some lotion to the wound, ignoring his comments of how nice it felt and covered him with the blanket again.

"Your leg is healing beautifully, Mr Rhodes," she told him, "Is there anything else I can get for you while I'm here?"

"You could just stay here for a while," he said and she had to fight back a cringe, "You help me feel better."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," she said as politely as she could, "I have other patients to tend to."

His shoulders deflated slightly as Bianca left the room and rejoined Daisy at the desk, eyes wide in horror.

"He's a nightmare!" she said, while updating his paperwork.

"You'll get worse," Daisy called from the store room, "Much worse."

Bianca sighed and headed to the room at the front of the ward where an old woman was sitting miserably on a bed.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting," Bianca said, "How can I help you?"

The woman looked up and held her hands in front of her. Except, instead of normal human hands, she had strange, bear-like paws and her nose was shaped like a little snout.

"Don't worry," Bianca said calmly, "That's easily fixed." It only took about a minute to return the woman's features to normal and hand her a form to fill in. When the woman stood up, she wobbled slightly, so Bianca quickly took her arm and offered to help her down the stairs to make sure she got out the building safely. The woman was very grateful and thanked her multiple times before disappearing back into London.

When she got back to the ward, Bianca went on her usual rounds, checking on everyone she was responsible for and fixing them with anything they needed. When she got home that evening, Bianca was exhausted. Everyone had seemed particularly fussy that day and it had seriously worn her out. Fred and George were already eating when she let herself into the flat.

"Hungry, were you?" she teased, "So desperate that you couldn't wait for me?"

George looked at her without even a hint of embarrassment, "You're late back," he said, "Your dinners in the oven. We just didn't want ours getting cold."

"How selfless of you," Bianca laughed, kicking off her shoes and joining them at the table, "It's not like you could have put a warming charm on it and waited a few minutes."

"We put one on yours," Fred said, "But we couldn't resist how good it smelt. How was work?"

"Tiring," Bianca laughed, "Honestly, one person complained because their water wasn't clear enough. I'm not really sure what they wanted me to do, but they were outraged when I bought them a new cup which was too warm. I had to go back and forth about six times before they gave up."

"Why did you need so much training if all you do is fetch water?" George joked, "I could do that."

"You're trained not to punch them in the face when they get too fussy," Fred said knowledgably, "Any normal person would throw the water at them after a while."

"How was business?"

"Excellent," George told her happily, "We ran out of Skiving Snackboxes again, though. There's not even any in storage."

"I'll put some together tomorrow," Bianca said, "I don't have a shift."

Usually, she liked to work in the shop with the twins when she had a day off because she could spend time with Fred and George instead of alone upstairs. It upset her slightly that the boys could spend so much time with each other and not with her but it wasn't something they did on purpose when their career paths were so different. That didn't stop her from missing them when she was stuck in a hospital though.

The months passed quickly in her new position. The threat of war still hung over everyone, but with nothing else going on, the days rolled by as if on a film reel. Just before Christmas, she had been deemed ready for her Level 2 exams but wasn't set to take them until after the holiday season.

Christmas day was a solemn experience. The shop had been busier than ever in the lead up but they closed late on Christmas Eve and didn't open again until the 27th. Mrs Weasley had spent much of the day sobbing over the absence of some of her family so the twins were messing around much more than usual to lighten the mood. They celebrated at the Burrow with Fleur and her family with a huge meal. Unfortunately, Bianca was working the night shift so had left the family early to head to work. She was glad that Daisy and Kyle were both also working overnight which would make spending her Christmas night in a hospital much easier.

Most people were in high spirits, especially the Healers on the ward and everything was lit up with pretty fairy lights. Bianca left Daisy and Kyle's gifts on the desk and set about on her general round of the patients. She'd barely stepped into the first bay when she was practically knocked off her feet with a hug from a very over excited Daisy.

"Merry Christmas!" she yelled causing several patients to grumble in annoyance.

"Merry Christmas," Bianca laughed, returning the hug, "How much caffeine have you had?"

"None yet," Daisy smiled, "But it's Christmas, Bea! I'm so excited."

"Your present's on the desk," Bianca told her, moving over to one of the beds which was home to a young woman whose arms had been completely stuck together right up to the elbow and were only very gradually becoming free with the application of some gooey salves. "Is there anything I can do for you?" Bianca asked kindly.

The woman looked sadly at the glass of water on her table, "Could I have a sip please?"

Bianca held the glass up to the woman's lips and allowed her to take a drink. She made her way around the ward, trying to cheer people up when she could, but not many of the patients were in particularly good moods. By midnight, the floor was practically silent and all the healers who were on shift were sitting together at the front desk. Every so often, the Healer-in-Charge of the floor, Alma, would come and get one of the more experiences Healers to help on other parts of the floor where they were overrun with patients.

In the early hours of the morning, a new name appeared on Bianca's list in blue, and she quickly rushed off to see what the matter was. Upon entering the waiting room, she was met with three people who all held very annoyed expressions. One man was arguing drunkenly with a woman while another woman sat in between them, arms folded.

"Mr Stevens?" Bianca called out.

"That's me," the man slurred, stumbling to his feet.

Bianca rolled her eyes- she hated drunk patients. The three people followed her to a private room where she conjured up two extra chairs for the women and asked the man to take a seat on the bed. "What's the problem?" she asked kindly.

The man looked at her as if she'd spoken in a foreign language so Bianca turned to the only one of the three who seemed even slightly sober and asked her instead.

"They both had a few too many drinks and got into a fight," the woman explained. She indicated to the other woman who was swaying slightly in her seat, eyes unfocused, "She got so annoyed that her wand started spitting spells out unintentionally and quite a few of them hit Mark. He was unconscious for a while and now he was weird marks all over his body."

"I'll take a look," Bianca moved towards the man and, speaking very clearly, asked him to roll up his sleeves. The skin was covered in green blotches and the blood vessels around them showed a deep green colour. "How much of his behaviour is because of the alcohol?"

"There's nothing wrong with my behaviour!" the man shouted, "It's her that's out of order!"

Bianca tried to interrupt but was cut off by the other woman screeching, "Me? I've done nothing!"

"Now isn't the time," Bianca told them, "I meant were you this drunk before getting hit or have been feeling more nauseous as time has gone on?"

"He was like this before," the sensible woman told her, putting an arm on her friend to calm her, "It's only the marks that have shown up."

"Right. I'm going to get a sobering potion, I won't be a minute."

Bianca ducked out of the door and hurried to the store room to grab a bottle of liquid which would help the man speak sense. Leaving the three unattended might not have turned out to be her best idea, as when she got back to the consultation room, the pair who had been fighting were face to face, wands raised while the other woman stood with her back against the room. Bianca told her to leave quickly and disarmed the furious looking pair. Unfortunately, this just made them turn to physical fighting and soon they were rolling around on the floor. In the end, Kyle had to rush in and assist holding Mr Stevens back while Bianca kept watch on his partner. Kyle pulled the woman away to look after her, leaving Bianca to check on the man. In the scuffle, some of the green blotches had been knocked and were now oozing a strange black liquid. It took her well over an hour to stop the flow of the mysterious fluid, force the potion into the man and figure out how to help him. It wasn't anything she's ever come across, so had to put together a combination of prior knowledge to actually achieve anything. The patient had been impossible to cooperate with to begin with until he was even slightly sober but then he spent half an hour ranting about the woman Bianca soon learned was his wife. She didn't listen to what he was saying, only nodding every so often to keep him happy.

At nearly three in the morning, she'd finally returned all of his skin to normal and opened the door to let him leave. After quickly locating his companions and watching with an amused smirk as he kissed his wife enthusiastically as an apology- apparently she'd sobered up substantially too- she wished them all a merry Christmas and did a quick round of the ward. Most patients were asleep, so she had to carry out her tests quietly, but there was one old woman who she'd had to put a silencing charm on because she was singing Christmas carols extremely loudly and was disturbing the people in neighbouring beds. Bianca smiled softly- her job was certainly interesting.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Half an hour before her shift was due to end on Christmas night, a name appeared across everyone's board in red which sent shivers down their spines. 'Ollie Haywood' was scribbled in every column in a deep scarlet colour. Bianca looked at Kyle, whose face had completely blanched as he stared at the name. Ollie Haywood was his little brother who was in his fifth year at Hogwarts. All the other healers had run off immediately to help. Alma was shouting that they needed everyone there. Emergencies didn't usually come to their ward, but if a case was particularly bad, they needed every pair of hands possible. Kyle stood staring at his brother's name, shaking slightly. Bianca put her hand on his arm gently, "You don't have to go."

He nodded, "I want to. I have to help him."

"Are you sure you're in the right mindset to-"

"He's my little brother," Kyle said, "I have to."

They crossed the floor together and entered the ward opposite. In one of the rooms, at least twelve healers were crowded around a bed, each one with their wands out, working together silently. Kyle pushed his way to the bedside, Bianca next to him. The poor boy did not look good. His entire body was trembling vigorously, with sweat pouring down his forehead. His lips were dry and cracked and his eyelids fluttered despite his state of unconsciousness.

"What happened?" Kyle asked, failing to keep his voice steady, despite his hardest attempts.

"He's a Muggleborn," Alma said roughly, "His house was attacked by Death Eaters. We think he's been tortured extensively with the Cruciatus curse."

"What about his family?" Bianca asked, seeing as Kyle had seemingly forgotten how to speak.

"They're dead."

Kyle's knees gave way and he fell to the floor. Bianca grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out of the room all the way down to the lockers where she sat him on the bench in front of his door.

"I need to be with Ollie-" he tried to get to his feet, but Bea easily pushed him down again.

"No," she said, "You're in no state to help him. Trust everyone else."

"I don't want him to be alone."

"I know," Bianca said gently, "I know, but just let everyone else look after him for now and just worry about you."

He rubbed at the tears which streamed down his face. Already, his eyes were puffy and red from crying, "I should have been there. Just a few hours earlier and I would have-"

"You couldn't have done anything," Bianca said, "If you'd been there, they would have killed you too and Ollie wouldn't have anyone."

"I was with them!" he sobbed, "They were fine! Everyone was happy and enjoying Christmas!"

"I know. I'm so sorry, Kyle. They didn't deserve this."

"It's so unfair," he cried, "That the last time I ever saw them they were all-" he choked up. "And now they're- they're gone!"

They stayed in the privacy of the locker room for a long time, every so often earning a strange glance from someone on shift change over.

"I want to go up," Kyle decided when he'd calmed down considerably, "Not to help. Just to make sure he's ok."

Bianca nodded and walked with him back up to the ward, pausing once mid-flight of stairs when Kyle wobbled slightly and nearly broke down. Bianca had to peel Daisy off him when they got up onto the floor before she guided him back into his brother's room. The young boy still had his eyes closed but he was breathing steadily and the sea of healers had mostly evaporated. Kyle looked up tearfully and apologised to Alma who was still there, furiously writing notes.

"It's my fault for not noticing the connection," she waved him off, "We didn't have time to check his background properly in the emergency. I'm sorry for the loss of your family."

Kyle nodded, "Can I stay in here with him?"

She nodded curtly, "He's going to be fine," she paused, "Physically, of course."

Kyle's face fell and Daisy and Bianca both hugged him, "We can stay," Daisy offered.

He shook his head, "Your shifts are over. Go home. Enjoy the holidays."

"We can't enjoy it now," Bianca said, "Not when you're stuck here all miserable."

"Well it's not like I can go home," he said glumly.

"We'll stay," Bianca said, "We can keep you company."

"I don't want company," he sighed, "I want to tell him what happened alone."

The girls looked at each other sadly, "Ok. Owl us immediately if you need anything. We'll come straight away."

The girls bid each other a sad farewell and parted to go home. They'd been at work so long, it was nearly mid-day and they were both exhausted from working all night. Fred and George had been frantic- Bianca swore their shoulders sagged about a mile deep when she walked through the door.

"We were so worried!" George said, "Where were you?"

"There was an emergency at work," Bianca said vaguely, "I got held up helping."

"What kind of emergency?" Fred asked, handing her a mug of coffee.

"A muggleborn's family was attacked and killed by Death Eaters last night. He was bought in this morning in really bad shape."

"I'm sensing a 'but'," George said.

"It was Kyle's little brother," Bianca said, "His whole family was killed. On Christmas. They only have each other now." She downed her coffee in a few large gulps and slammed the mug down, "I'm going to bed."

"But we were going to play those Muggle board games to celebrate Christmas."

"I don't really feel like celebrating," Bianca said, "Maybe later."

"But it's Christmas!" George looked heartbroken.

"For us maybe," Bianca said, "But what about all those people who can't celebrate Christmas right now? What about the people who are stuck in hospital or worse? What about Harry and Ron? Do think they're celebrating?"

"No," Fred said after sharing a silent conversation with George, "No, they're not. But that just means we should be grateful for our chance to. Go and get changed and ready."

"Ready for what?"

"We're going to make some people's Christmases a bit brighter."

While Bianca quickly showered and got changed, the boys ran down to the storage section of the store and grabbed a few of their products. They packed them into bags and boxes which had featherlight charms on them and ran back upstairs to meet Bea, leaving most of the shelves completely empty.

"Grab a box and follow us," Fred told her.

They walked through London together, the twins ignoring Bianca's persistent questions the whole way until they stopped in front of a very familiar building.

"The Hospital?" Bianca asked, "Why are we at the hospital?"

"Look in the bag," George told her.

Frowning slightly, Bea opened the bag she'd carried all the way from Diagon Alley and peered inside, "Joke products?"

"No," Fred said, "Christmas presents."

Bianca's face lit up when she finally understood, "To cheer the patients up."

The twins nodded and walked into the hospital. Bianca took them to the front desk where her favourite receptionist Betty was sitting.

"Didn't you just finish your shift?" the old woman asked sweetly.

"I'm not here to work," Bianca said, "We've come to hand out presents to the patients for Christmas to make their day a bit better."

"That's so sweet! You're so kind," Betty dabbed her eyes with a hanky, "Well you know where to sign in."

The three made their way around every ward, handing out appropriate presents to every long-term patient. The young children got a pygmy puff or a ever-lasting bubble machine while the slightly older teenagers received Headless Hats or Comb-a-Chameleon (a hairbrush which turned your hair all sorts of fun colours). Many of the children recognised Fred and George, and their faces lit up immediately. They gave out almost every type of product they sold, apart from Skiving Snackboxes- the twins thought that might have been inappropriate in a hospital. They managed to bring a few of the elderly patients to tears with their generosity and lost track of the endless 'thank yous' or hugs they got. It took several hours, but finally they were standing outside the last room on the last ward of the last floor. All of the bags were empty except for one containing a few odd products and a lone pygmy puff. Bianca pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Bianca? I thought you went home?"

Bea smiled up at Kyle who was sitting at his brother's bedside, both of them with tear tracks engraved on their faces. Ollie's pillow was soaked from his crying and Kyle's nose was bright red.

"I did," Bianca told him, "But I came back because I bought some people with me. We've been spreading a bit of Christmas magic. Fred? George? Come in here."

She saw Ollie's eyes glint slightly in excitement as he recognised their names and Kyle glance at her curiously. When the boys came in, arms laden with the last of their products, Ollie smiled.

"You own the joke shop on Diagon Alley," he said, almost happily, "I love it in there. Kyle promised he'd take me over the holidays while I'm not at school, but we didn't have the chance before-" his voice broke off completely and he looked down sadly.

"It's definitely lucky that we bought it to you instead, then," Fred said kindly, setting down the presents on the end of his bed, "These are a few presents we thought you'd like."

"Bianca," Kyle said quietly, "You didn't have to-"

"Of course we did," George cut him off, "It wouldn't be very fair if everyone else in this place got a present and little Ollie here didn't."

"Everyone? You gave away products to everyone?" Ollie asked.

"Let me pay for these," Kyle said, standing up.

"That would defeat the point of a present," Bianca told him, "Sit down."

"What's that?" Ollie pointed excitedly at the purple pygmy puff which was trying to make its way towards him over all the covers.

"That is your new best friend," Fred said, "A pygmy puff. They're fun and love to cuddle and are very, very loyal."

"It's so cute!"

Bianca smiled. Ollie was only four years younger than the twins, but he was acting like a small child. It was so heart-warming to see how happy they'd made everyone. They stayed with Ollie and Kyle for about an hour, showing them all the products for which they were both very grateful for and very entertained by. It was only when Ollie's eyes started drooping that they remembered that he was ill and left him to rest. Kyle gave all three of them a hug and thanked them profusely.

When they got to the foyer and had signed out, Fred and George stopped in front of the door and grinned at each other. George reached into his pocket and pulled out a small firework.

"George, no," Bianca said, "Think about where we are."

Fred shushed her, "Don't worry. It's perfectly safe."

Bianca pursed her lips but didn't complain again as George lit the firework. Soon, colourful lights filled the air and soft, festive bells were sounding. The lights pulled together to spell out 'Merry Christmas' before dropping to the floor as snowflakes which disappeared as soon as they touched the ground. The three slipped out of the building, leaving behind the round of applause and cheering.

"That was worth every penny we just lost," Fred said, beaming widely.

"Months of profit down the drain," George said, "But that was better than any money we could have earned."

They talked the whole was home of how happy they'd made everyone, recalling the tears of gratitude and improved atmosphere in the hospital and remembering the ecstatic reactions of everyone. Bianca vaguely wondered how many of those people received other presents that year and which ones had spent yesterday getting nothing but healing potions. The three couldn't help but feel like they'd done something good, especially in these dark times.

It took several days to replenish all of the products in the store after Christmas. Bianca helped when she could around her shifts at work so they could open up again as soon as possible. A few days after Christmas, Mrs Weasley burst though the fireplace, holding a newspaper.

"Morning mum," George, who was the only one up, said from the counter, "Can I make you some eggs?"

She ignored him, "Is this true?"

George moved away from stirring the eggs and took the paper from his mother. On it was printed a huge article, praising the efforts of the Weasley twins and all they did to help those in need on Boxing Day. There were reports from patients, expressing how grateful they were and it explained all about how they gave out products for everyone on every floor.

"Yeah, it's true," George said nonchalantly, "We thought everyone deserved a present."

The rest of his explanation was cut off by his mother wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I am so proud of you!" she cried, "That's the kindest, sweetest thing I've ever heard." She continued to blubber on about what good boys they were for about ten minutes, only to repeat her speech when Fred surfaced from his room, asking what the racket was about.

"And the fireworks in the reception were such a gorgeous touch," she gushed, "Just think about all those people whose day you two improved."

"Three," Fred said, "Bianca came too."

Mrs Weasley looked confused, "But the article doesn't say-"

Fred snatched up the paper and scanned it, "All it says is that we could have been inspired by her because she works there."

"That's not good," George said, "If the wrong people read that, they'll know we lied at the wedding and they'll be able to track her down."

"Where is she now?" Mrs Weasley asked.

"Work," Fred replied, "She'll be back soon, though, if you want to see her."

"No, I must be off. Charlie's getting ready to go back to Romania to try and recruit people over there."

"Don't let him leave without coming to see us first," George said.

When Bianca got home half an hour later, stress lines littered her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Death Eaters were spotted waiting outside the hospital during shift change over last night," she explained, "No one was allowed to leave until the aurors got there to chase them off. Now they're putting a Floo network in and charming it so only staff can use it and we can get to work safely. They had to collect everyone's addresses before we left to connect it."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, they seemed to just be hanging around watching," Bianca said as she untied her shoes, "It was odd."

"This might explain it," George passed her the newspaper which Mrs Weasley had left for them, "They might have been looking for you."

Bianca frowned, "Maybe, but I doubt it. Besides, how would they know if I was even working that shift?"

Despite this, from then on, Bianca was extremely careful going to and from work. She used the new Floo network, but was on high alert form the moment she entered the building. For months, things seemed to have clamed down. People were still admitted to the hospital after attacks, but there seemed to be a lull of Death Eater activity. Lee Jordan had started up a radio show called Potterwatch in which Fred and George would sometimes go and help with, but generally, they liked to listen instead for any information they could gather. Bianca stopped going out in public, except to go to work, as they were all terrified that something could happen.

Everything seemed to be ok. Bianca was now a fully qualified Level 2 healer and was definitely enjoying her green robes and the twins had definitely made up for their loss of money in the shop, despite the barren nature of Diagon Alley. That was until mid-March, when it all got flipped upside down completely.


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

 **Bianca woke up one morning and dragged herself out of bed to get ready for work. Thanks to the new Floo network, she didn't usually need to be up so early to walk, but on that particular day, she was heading in before her shift started to cover for Daisy. The girl had begged her on their last shift together to come in just an hour ahead of when she was due because apparently she had an appointment which she'd forgotten to tell the hospital staff about. Bianca had agreed, meaning she had an extra hour to work that day, under the promise that Daisy would pay her back for the hour.**

 **So, at eight o clock, instead of nine, she was signing in at the front desk.**

 **"** **You're early," Betty, the old receptionist said.**

 **Bianca nodded, "I'm covering for Daisy. She has to be somewhere important."**

 **"** **That's very kind of you," Betty told her, "I don't suppose you could chase up last night's paperwork from your ward? It hasn't been sent down yet."**

 **Bianca frowned. That was odd- usually Alma or whoever was in charge over night was very prompt with sending everything down for filing.**

 **"** **Yes, of course," she smiled, "I'll see where it's got to and send it right down."**

 **"** **Thank you, sweetie, have a good shift."**

 **Bianca began her ascent of the stairs and entered the ward to find it very quiet. Daisy was standing impatiently by the desk, tapping her toe and looking at the clock with a glassy sheen in her eyes.**

 **"** **What took so long?" she demanded, "Never mind, thank you so much, I'll see you tomorrow."**

 **Everything seemed so strange. Daisy was a very kind person, and would definitely not have got annoyed for someone being a couple of minutes late when they were doing her a favour. Instead, she would have apologised for being an inconvenience, given them at least three hugs and thanked them profusely before leaving. Her appointment must have been very important. Bea set about her usual rounds, not noticing the lack of people about.**

 **"** **Good morning, Mr Jones," she said cheerfully to one patient, "How are the gills today?" Mr Jones had had a curse put on his which left him unable to breathe through his mouth and nose and was instead left with fish gills. He blubbed helplessly at her and indicated to the bubble of water which the Healers had charmed to be around his neck to allow his to breathe. As he used the oxygen, the bubble shrank, and Bianca was alarmed to see how small it had gotten. She quickly replenished the supply for him, wondering how anyone had allowed it to get so low before checking her was comfortable and moving on.**

 **"** **Excuse me?" a man asked from across the room, "Do you know when we'll be getting breakfast?"**

 **Bianca glanced up at the clock and had to hide her frown. Breakfast was usually handed out at half past seven- it was nearly an hour late. She forced a smile, "I'm sure it won't be long. Is there anything I can get for you in the mean time?"**

 **Something definitely wasn't right. None of the patients had had their morning checks performed and Bianca hadn't seen a single Healer other than Daisy all morning. Not wanting to leave the ward abandoned while she searched for others people, Bianca checked in every bay, trying to look after as many patients as she could by herself. Most of them couldn't have their morning potions without eating first, and seeing as breakfast had never arrived, Bianca couldn't deliver the medication. Internally, she was starting to panic as she headed over to a patient who had been calling her loudly for several minutes.**

 **"** **Good morning," she said sweetly, covering her fears, "What's the problem?"**

 **"** **I need a salve for my leg," the woman said.**

 **Bianca picked up her file and quickly checked to see what the woman needed specifically, before telling the patient she'd grab it and heading to the store room. She most certainly was not expecting to open the door and have a wand thrust into her face dangerously or see the terrified faces of her colleagues, bound and gagged on the floor. The ward had been attacked by Death Eaters, and at least five that Bianca could see were towering over them menacingly.**

 **"** **Do what we tell you to do," the one closest to her said with a snarl, "And we'll let your friends go back to their jobs peacefully."**

 **Bianca nodded, thinking of all the ill people who needed taking care of.**

 **"** **Hand me your wand."**

 **She reached slowly into her robes and carefully placed her wand in the Death Eater's outstretched arm. With a flick of his own wand, she was tied up on the floor and the bounds on everyone else were gone.**

 **"** **We'll let you all go," the man snarled, "But you go straight to your jobs and don't even think about mentioning this to anyone. If anyone turns up here trying to rescue her, you all die."**

 **No one chose to tell him that they needed supplies from the cupboard they were stuffed into and nodded before getting unsteadily to their feet and leaving.**

 **"** **Not one word, you hear me?" The Death Eater turned to one of the others, "Do patrols around the ward. Make sure none of them try anything."**

 **Bianca looked up at the people surrounding her. Each one was cloaked and masked, making it impossible to identify them and they all had their wands pointed at her. She saw absolutely no way to get out of the situation and she knew there wasn't going to be any help coming in from the outside so naturally was terrified.**

 **"** **Here's the deal," the Death Eater said, "You're going to give us all the information we need, and then we're going to kill you. Clear?"**

 **Bianca just glared at him. "If you don't tell us what we want to know," he continued, "There are plenty of people out there for us to go through."**

 **She shifted uncomfortably and looked down. The man was walking up and down the shelves, studying each potion, "I'm sure if that doesn't work either, we could give you some of these to loosen your tongue. I'm sure a mixture of two or three different potions would make an interesting situation. What's the matter?" he asked, seeing her look of horror, "Are these not meant to be used when they're not needed?"**

 **Bianca shook her head, some of the potions in that room could be very dangerous if used too much or unnecessarily.**

 **"** **Well you had better answer our questions," he smiled at her. With a wave of his wand, he'd locked the door to the storage and her gag had vanished.**

 **"** **Where's Harry Potter?"**

 **"** **I don't know."**

 **"** **Don't lie," he told her sharply, "We know you're associated with him."**

 **"** **He's been missing for months," Bianca said, "He left in summer and nobody's seen or heard from him since."**

 **"** **What's he doing?"**

 **"** **I don't know. All he told us is that he had a mission to complete from Dumbledore."**

 **"** **Pass me that potion," he pointed vaguely to a shelf, allowing his friend to choose a vial for himself. "I assume you know what all of these or for and that you don't want to take this." He held two very different potions in front of her face. "We don't know though," he continued, "So you're going to drink this so we can find out, ok?"**

 **"** **No," Bianca said, "I'm telling the truth, I promise. He didn't tell us where he was going."**

 **"** **Is he alone?"**

 **"** **Yes," she said immediately, "He didn't want to put anyone else in danger."**

 **"** **What about the Weasley boy?"**

 **"** **He's sick with spattergroit at home," Bianca said, "He hasn't been out of bed in months."**

 **"** **But you can't heal him?"**

 **"** **I'm not fully qualified yet." The man uncorked one of the vials and brought it closer to her mouth, threatening to pour it down her throat.**

 **"** **I don't think you're telling the truth."**

 **"** **I've told you what I know," Bianca tried to move her head away but another Death Eater held her in position from behind.**

 **"** **Where's his mudblood friend?"**

 **"** **I don't know where they are! They both left without a word and no one knows anything."**

 **"** **So they might be together?"**

 **"** **Potentially," Bianca said, "But not that I know of."**

 **He was quite quickly getting annoyed with her. His face was contorted in rage and in a couple of swift movements, he'd poured both of the medicines into her mouth. She felt them burning her throat as they trickled into her stomach and combining strangely inside her. Tears began streaming down her face as she fought her gag reflex desperately, but couldn't do anything to stop herself throwing up all over the Death Eater. A layer of sweat covered her skin and she shook slightly.**

 **"** **Interesting," he didn't seem annoyed at him vomit shower, vanishing it quickly and selecting another couple of potions, "Did you know that was going to happen?"**

 **All she could do was pant heavily, trying to ignore the tingling feeling all through her insides.**

 **"** **Shall we try these ones now?" he suggested, kneeling in front of her again.**

 **"** **No," she said quickly, "What else do you want to know?"**

 **He smirked in satisfaction and continued to question her for hours. She answered vaguely and didn't give away anything important which did lead to several more strangely coloured liquids being poured down her neck in very large doses and left her weak on the floor. Finally, they seemed content with what they had learned and the main Death Eater stood up straight to unlock the door. She looked at him in shock.**

 **"** **You thought we were going to kill you now?" he mocked, "No, not now. But soon. We have a surprise for you when you get home first."**

 **That immediately sent shivers down her spine as a thousand worried for her family flooded her mind. But the Death eaters laughed and left the room, stopping only to knock over all the shelves so that everything stored on them spilled and fell straight onto Bianca. It felt as though acid was ripping her skin off slowly and leaving a pile of muscle and bone. Thanks to her experience with the Death Eaters, she couldn't move from the puddle of poison and had no choice but to lie there until Healers came in from the ward to move her. It was a strange experience, having the people she usually worked along side heal her. She almost felt as though she should be getting up and helping them. Of course, her lack of ability to move any of her limbs stopped this from happening.**

 **Whenever someone moved her even slightly, her whole body screamed in pain, but she couldn't speak to express her discomfort. She could feel the different potions causing all sorts of damage to different areas of her body, whether it was burning, aching or itching, she was extremely uncomfortable. Bianca also noticed how she was only treated with healing charms or spells which definitely slowed the process. Pretty quickly, the pain became too overwhelming and, despite the best efforts of the Healers around her, her eyes closed and she succumbed to darkness.**

 **Many hours later, she woke again to the blinding whiteness of the hospital. She was feeling considerably better, just a little tired and had even managed to sit up before Alma came in.**

 **"** **Is everyone ok?" Bianca asked immediately when she saw the Healer-in-Charge.**

 **"** **No one else was hurt," Alma said, "And the storage room has been cleaned. Thanks to your efforts this morning, all of the patients were in good condition."**

 **Bianca sighed in relief, "How long had everyone been locked up?"**

 **"** **Several hours," Alma said, "We were starting to get concerned. You'll be free to go in a couple of hours," her face turned serious, "And I'm sorry to tell you we don't want to see you back until this whole situation is over."**

 **Bianca nodded solemnly- she'd been expecting this, "The last thing I'd want to do is put anyone in danger," she said, "I'm sorry for what happened today."**

 **"** **When this war is over, your job will still be here," Alma told her, "But for now-"**

 **"** **I know," Bianca said, "Thank you."**

 **She sat on the bed in the hospital for a long time, every couple of hours, allowing a Healer to perform a few checks before smiling sympathetically at her and leaving. All she wanted was to go home and rest, but there seemed to be endless things that needed doing first. They had to check that she could walk and stand and that there was no internal damage. By the time Bianca actually signed out, it was the early evening. She decided to walk home instead of taking the Floo to get some air and spent the whole time with her hand on her wand on high alert.**

 **When she stepped on to Diagon Alley, her heart sank slightly as she remembered what the Death Eater had said to her about a 'surprise'. She sprinted down towards the shop and was sure her heart stopped when her eyes fell on the broken glass which had come from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The door was hanging off its hinges and everything in sight was destroyed. Wand now held out in front of her, Bianca carefully stepped inside. She didn't want to light it just in case it bought attention to her and moved slowly through the ruins to the only source of noise. There were crashes and shouts coming from the back of the store, so Bianca made her way there. A few steps away from rounding the corner, her foot hit against something solid on the ground and she nearly stumbled. Looking down, she was horrified to see Fred sprawled out across the floor, arms and legs bent at funny angles and surrounded by blood. Heart pounding against her chest, she knelt down and allowed herself to exhale only was she knew he was alive.**

 **As she continued through the shop, she was relieved to hear George's voice amongst those shouting spells. She was just about to turn the corner when a huge explosion shook the whole building and Bianca was thrown back. All events from the hospital completely forgotten, she shot to her feet and ran to the source, dropping to her knees beside George's now unresponsive body.**

 **"** **No, no, no," she mumbled, placing one hand on his chest to make sure he was breathing. Glancing quickly across the room to make sure any attackers had also been floored and weren't going to cause a problem, she levitated George's body over to Fred, grabbed both of their hands and disapparated.**


	54. Chapter 54

A/N: Apologies for spelling/ grammar errors and typos recently I haven't had time to check all the chapters properly.

Chapter 54

George woke up in an unfamiliar room which alarmed him greatly until he realised that he was lying in a very comfortable bed. His ears were ringing slightly and multiple parts of his body were aching, but when he looked down, his wounds were dressed in bandages. As he looked around the room as best he could, there was no sign of Fred which he found very concerning, but also no sign of anything else. The room was completely empty apart from the bed which he was lying on and a bag he recognised as his own in the corner. There was no other furniture or decorations, just a bed.

It took him several minutes to be able to get out of the bed as every time he moved, his head pounded like there was someone hitting his brain repetitively with a lead hammer. Slowly, he shuffled across to the door and carefully pulled it open. He didn't know where his wand was, so was feeling extremely vulnerable as he peered out only to see another barren room. All this one contained was a small, scruffy sofa which had its back to George's doorway. He tip-toed out of the bedroom and into the dimly lit living room. When he got to the sofa, he stopped, shocked.

"Bianca?"

Even when she was asleep, he could see the dark circles under her eyes and the worry and stress which was etched into her skin. George knelt on the floor and gently shook her to rouse her. When she shot upright, looking around in fear, he had to place both hands firmly on her shoulders to stop her from attacking him.

"George?" she asked, "You're awake! Are you ok?" She got up and practically pushed him onto the sofa in her place, "Here, sit down."

George ignored all her questions, "Where's Fred?" he asked urgently.

"He's in the other room," Bianca said, "He hasn't woken up yet."

"What happened? Why are we here?"

Before she even answered, memories which had previously been missing came flooding back into his mind. The fight at the shop.

"I don't know what happened," Bianca said, "I got back from work and the shop was in ruins. I was hoping you would remember what happened, but I was so worried about your head."

"My head?"

Bianca nodded, "There was an explosion. I grabbed the two of you and left, but as soon as you were in light-" she faltered, "There was blood everywhere. I didn't know who to heal first, or what to do. I didn't even know what had happened. It took hours to heal both of you properly and then I had to move you into your rooms so you weren't just lying here on the floor." She shivered, "It was terrifying."

"Is Fred ok?"

"I think so. I don't-"

"What do you mean, you think?"

"Well it's hard to heal someone when you don't know what's wrong with them. I did everything I could do in the circumstances. I'll have to wait for him to wake up."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course," Bianca lead George into a different room. Like George's, it was filled with only a bag and a bed, but his knees nearly buckled when he saw his brother. Bianca steadied him before guiding him over.

"I know he doesn't look too good," Bianca said, "But honestly he's fine. I've been checking up on both of you every hour since we've been here- I'd know if something happened."

"How long have we been here?" George asked, not taking his eyes off Fred.

"Four days," Bianca said quietly.

"What?"

"It was a pretty nasty explosion," she said, "I thought at first that you were-"

"I don't even remember an explosion," George sighed.

"What do you remember?"

George looked down guiltily, "It was half an hour before closing, and there were barely any customers so we told Verity that she could leave and head home, but she said she was walking and she lives in London. I walked her home to make sure she got back safely and left Fred in charge of the shop. I don't know what happened when I was gone, but when I got back, he was mid-fight with some Death Eaters. He was already beaten up badly, but he was outnumbered by at least six. Half the shop was destroyed and Fred was on the floor, but the Death Eaters weren't even scratched. Of course, I went to go in and help, but they'd locked the door. I wasted so much time trying to open it, by the time I'd blown all the glass up and got through that way, Fred was unconscious and they were just throwing curses at him for the fun of it," he paused, "It was horrible. He just lay there twitching and thrashing but at the same time, it was like he had no life in him at all. Obviously, he couldn't do anything to protect himself, so I tried to distract them and moved the fight to the back of the shop, away from Fred. Four or five of them were duelling with me while the other couple were still attacking Fred so I stunned both of them first to keep him safe and then focused on fighting the others. It lasted ages and the last thing I remember is thinking that I was definitely going to die, and then I woke up here."

Bianca sighed and looked down at Fred. When she'd found them, both the twins had been a few hits away from dying. George had been completely covered in cuts, burns and bruises and he had so many broken bones, Bianca lost track of the ones she healed. His head, however had been most concerning. There was a huge gash right from the top of it down to his eyebrow and it was pouring blood like a waterfall. The wound from his missing ear which had been fully healed had opened up too. Fred's injuries, however, weren't physical. Bianca had been so glad she specialised in healing spells and curses, because otherwise, Fred wouldn't have stood a chance. Neither or their heartbeats had been more than a flutter when she got them to safety and it had taken at least a day to get them breathing properly without the use of magic to help. It had truly been the most terrifying few days of Bianca's life. She hadn't slept- too scared something would happen to the boys if she was out too long, and she only left to grab a few things from the flat, quickly warn the rest of the family not to visit the shop and buy plenty of food and water supplies.

"Well," she said, "We're safe here, I promise."

"Where is here?" George asked.

Bianca laughed dryly, "This is my flat," she said, "I've been renting from a Muggle for a few months now to keep as a safe place in case we ever needed it. I hoped that we'd never have to, of course, but I thought it would be best to have somewhere to stay just in case. I managed to get it fairly cheap and somehow convinced the landlord not to tell anyone who owns it. If anyone asks, he's going to tell them that he decided he needed it and it's not for sale any more. Nobody knows I have it except me, him and mum."

"Mum knows?"

Bianca nodded, "I needed to tell someone so that if something happened and I came here, no one would panic and start searching without checking here first. It was just a precaution."

"Why didn't you tell us?" George seemed a little hurt.

"I never had the chance to," she explained, "I barely see either of you anymore unless I'm helping in the shop but then there'd be too many people around. Besides, it's not the kind of thing I'd throw into conversation at breakfast."

"I guess it's best that as few people know as possible," George said.

Bianca nodded solemnly, "You should get some sleep. You're not fully recovered yet."

George tried to stifle a yawn, "No, you should go," he said, "You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I was literally asleep on the sofa not half an hour ago," Bianca said, "You saw me. Besides, you need rest more than I do."

The pair had a silent glaring competition which Bianca won and George regretfully left the room to head back to his own bed. Bea followed, holding a glass of clear liquid which he looked at doubtfully. "What's that?"

"Just water, I promise," Bianca said, "It's been hard getting you to drink without making you choke recently."

George took the glass, sniffed it and, once he was satisfied that water was all it contained, took a sip. "If you need me, I'll be with Fred," Bianca told him as she pulled the door closed.

Internally, she was very jealous of George getting to sleep for a few more hours. In all honesty, her nap on the sofa before had been the first time she'd rested since they'd arrived at the flat. She'd been so wrapped up in looking after the twins, she hadn't even thought about stopping to sleep. But eventually, the coffee she'd been drinking constantly hadn't been enough to keep her going. It would have been dangerous for both her and the boys if she'd tried to continue, so instead, she'd chosen to briefly lie down on the sofa where she could get to both Fred and George easily if necessary. Unfortunately, that short rest would have to be satisfactory until George was awake, because she didn't want to leave Fred unaccompanied any longer in his unstable condition.

Seeing George walking around had been a humongous relief and a substantial weight removed from her shoulders. Now, she only had to worry about Fred, who was still lying helplessly on the bed. The blankets she had thrown over his barely moved, and she had to pull them back momentarily to make sure he was still breathing. She couldn't believe what was happening. It was sad to think how drastically everything had changed in such a short amount of time. She thought back to how innocent and happy she'd been just a few years ago and now, she was hiding to keep herself alive and she, Fred and George had all nearly been killed within a few hours. Living in a dingy apartment with minimal supplies made it difficult to see how anything could ever be normal again, but being pessimistic in times like this would do nothing.

She had been sitting with Fred for a few minutes when the bedroom door opened. Instinctively, she reached for her wand, but dropped her hand and smiled gently when George poked his head in.

"Are you alright?"

He laughed, "I will be when he is. There's no way I could sleep knowing that-"

"I get it," Bianca said, "I don't like it when you're like this. I want the happy, laughing Fred and George back. Not the half-dead miserable ones."

"Forgive me," George said dryly, "Let me reel off the series of jokes which come to mind in this beautiful, joy-filled place."

Bianca smirked, "If the great George Weasley can't think of something positive to say, then I don't know what the world has come to."

"Do you know what I think?" George said, moving round to the other side of the bed.

"What's that?"

"I think Freddie-boy needs a cuddle."

The moved the blanket back and squeezed onto the bed, putting an arm around him brother's shoulders and looking at Bianca with a smile.

"There is not enough room on this bed for us," Bianca laughed, but she crawled in on Fred's other side just like they used to do when they were little children. Within minutes, she heard George's breathing slow and he began snoring slightly. Placing her hand on Fred's chest for her own reassurance, Bianca closed her eyes and finally received the first few hours of proper sleep she'd had in days.

Laughter rang through the small apartment, filling every room. It was a sound which was yet to be heard in the flat so stood out and echoed off every wall. It wasn't evil, diabolical laughter like that of a triumphant criminal, but genuine, relaxed laughter of those content in each other's company. That's what stood out to Bianca and pulled her out of her slumber immediately. When she rolled over and neither of the twins were beside her, she smiled and rolled out from under the covers. Rubbing her eyes, she plodded across the room and yanked the door open. It creaked which grabbed the attention of Fred and George who were squeezed onto the small, rugged sofa.

"We were wondering when you would be up," George said, "We're getting hungry."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she demanded, "Fred how are you feeling?"

"Hungry," he said, "We've been waiting hours."

"Hours!" she repeated, "You should have got me!"

"You haven't slept for days because you were looking after us," George said, "And we were both fine so we left you. If there had been a problem, we would have got you."

Bianca scowled, "I never had time to go out and buy much food," she said, "So there are only a few essentials."

"I'll see what I can make," George offered, "No doubt you'll want to fuss over Freddie for a bit."

"No," she said immediately, "You two stay here, I'll cook."

"We are capable of moving," Fred smirked, watching as she moved over to the tiny kitchen area, "You don't have to do everything for us."

"It's my job to do everything for people," Bianca said as she opened a cupboard, "I'm used to it."

"Speaking of your job," George said, "How come you've got away with being off for a week?"

Bianca closed her eyes and sighed, "I've been asked to stay away from the hospital until the war is over."

"What? Why?"

Bianca quickly explained what had happened to her the morning of the attacks.

"And you're only telling us this now?" Fred shouted, jumping to his feet but immediately falling to the floor when his legs didn't support him.

George knelt down and pulled him back onto the sofa, trying to suppress a smirk.

"Forgive me if I was a bit preoccupied," Bianca said sarcastically, "Besides, I don't think either of you were in much of a condition to listen to me explain. It would have been a waste of my breath."

"I can't believe they did that to you after everything you've worked for. I bet you're one of the best junior healers they have!"

"It's not about how good I am," Bianca said, blushing slightly, "It would be completely against the entire point of a hospital to put all their patients at risk for the sake of my job and that's the priority. I've been more than busy here anyway with my own two full time patients."

George faked confusion and looked around the dirty room, "Someone else has been here with us?" he asked, "Who?"

"Yeah, who have you been prioritising over us?" Fred joined in.

"Just these two boys that came to me for help. They were pretty beaten up and a little bit useless so I fixed them up. I think they must have been brothers, you could definitely see the similarities."

"They weren't too handsome, I hope," George feigned a scowl.

"Oh no, they were horrible to look at," Bea teased, "In a way I was glad they were covered in blood- it meant I didn't have to see them properly."

"Oi!"

Bianca laughed and returned to making some soup.

"Does anyone know we're here?" Fred called across the room.

"Mum does," Bianca replied, stirring the pot, "But that's it. Dad knows we're safe but not exactly where we are."

"I can't believe this is all happening," George sighed, "Has there been any word from Ron or Harry?"

Bianca shook her head sadly and began dishing out the soup, "Not that I've heard."

When they were all sitting squeezed together on the sofa, enjoying their food, Bianca placed her bowl down and clasped her hands together.

"I've been thinking," she said.

"Uh oh," George joked.

"This can't be good."

She rolled her eyes and ignored them, "Recently," she said, "Things have been getting a bit dangerous and there have been multiple occasions in which we could have been hurt."

"Or have been hurt," George said, indicating to his bandages.

"Exactly," Bea agreed, "But when you think about it quite a lot of the time, you two get out unscathed."

"I can think of many examples of when that has not been the case," Fred frowned.

"Can you let me finish please? When the shop was attacked the other day, George, where were you when Fred got hurt?"

"I was walking Verity home."

"And where was Fred when you got hurt?"

"Unconscious on the floor," George said slowly.

"Ok. And when you were getting Harry from Privet Drive," she continued, "Where were you, Fred, when George had his ear cursed off?"

"I was miles away flying in the opposite direction," Fred said, "You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"

"I know it sounds insane," Bianca said, "But neither of you have ever been gravely injured when the other has been there to help. It's almost as if when you're together, you're safer."

"Bianca-"

"Look, I know it's not something you should rely on to save you, but don't you think it's odd? Can't you just promise me, however stupid I sound right now, that you'll stay together from now on? At least until this is all over. It'll stop me worrying," she added helplessly.

George had a silent conversation with Fred before looking at Bianca, "We promise. As long as you know nothing's guaranteed."

"Of course, I do. But it's a chance, however small, that you both might be safe. Why not try it anyway?"

The three had just fallen back into a contended silence when a silver beam of light burst into the room and morphed into the shape of a large bear.

"That's mum's patronus," Fred breathed, eyes fixed on the creature.

"Come to Muriel's immediately," Mrs Weasley's voice boomed and the bear dissipated into silvery whisps.

The three remained statue-still where they were for a few seconds before simultaneously jumping up and running to fetch their wands. Just as Bianca was returning to the main living room with the twins, the front door swung open with a deafening creak and revealed three figures dressed in dark robes. Bea immediately recognised one as the so-called 'Muggle' landlord who was renting her the flat as one of the men. All three had their wands raised threateningly and wore horrible smirks on their smug faces.

"Bea," George said quietly, "Please tell me we can apparate from in here."

Bianca gulped and nodded, slowly reaching out to grab both their hands.

"Don't even think about it," one of the Death Eaters growled at them from across the room. Bianca vaguely recognised him as Augustus Rookwood. The three intruders had got so close that if Bianca tried to disapparate, any curses sent their way would still hit them.

"Where is Harry Potter?" the fake landlord asked, grabbing Fred roughly and dragging him away. Bianca felt George tense next to her and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Well?" Rookwood spat, "Where is he?"

"We don't know," Bianca said, "No one's heard from him for months."

"What about your little brother?"

"He's sick at home," George said, "You know that."

"Sick, is he? So maybe you could explain why he was just at Malfoy Manor with Potter and the mudblood girl."

Bianca's heart sank, "He was where?"

"Snatchers found the three of them out in the woods and bought them in. They looked like they'd been out for quite a while. You don't happen to know anything about that, do you?"

Bianca remained silent, her lips pursed.

"That's what I thought," Rookwood smirked, stepping towards her, "Your daddy's not too happy that you've all been lying for so long. Don't worry though sweetheart, we're not to kill you yet. Not until we've got Potter. We'll just bring you with us and look after you for a while until little Harry is dealt with. Unless you want to tell us where he is."

"I already said we don't know. Harry wouldn't come to us for help- he'd be too scared to put us in danger."

"Shame. You'll come with us anyway, of course. Master wants a few words with his daughter- I reckon you're probably grounded for being a naughty girl."

"I'm not his daughter," Bianca spat back, "I want nothing to do with him unless it involves watching him die."

"Oh, definitely not a daddy's girl, eh?" he paused and sneered horribly, "He'd give you another chance, you know. To join him."

"And watch him murder everyone I've ever cared about out of pure selfishness? I'd rather not, funnily enough."

"He could tell you all about your mother."

"I don't care about my mother. She was probably just as bad as him. It makes me sick to think I'm related to them."

The Death Eater tutted and gripped onto her arm tightly, "Let's take the little girl to see daddy. You two can deal with the boys how you want to."

Bianca wrenched her arm away and stepped in front of George, horrified. She saw the landlord raise his wand to Fred's head but chose not to look towards him. She didn't know how the next few minutes were going to play out, but there was no way on Earth she was going to let the twins get hurt.

"No," she said, "I'll come with you, but you leave them alone."

Rookwood raised an eyebrow, "Say you'll join us."

Bianca faltered and the twins both opened their mouths to protest,

"Say it or we'll track down everyone you love and kill them each slowly, starting with these two and finishing with mum and dad. What kind of a thank you would that be after everything they've done for you? You have a chance to save them," he whispered, "To protect them all. Isn't that what you want?"

"Bea, they're lying," George said, "He'd kill us anyway, you know that."

"I can't risk it," Bianca said quietly, "I won't let you get hurt." She looked up at Rookwood who was smiling triumphantly, "I'll come with you."

"Let the boys go."

Bea looked up guiltily at the twins and mouthed, 'Stay safe. I'll find you,' before allowing the Death Eaters to take her. Fred and George just gaped at her, a wide range of emotions mixed on their faces while they watched their best friend disappear.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Bianca decided immediately that she didn't like Malfoy Manor. It seemed to have been painted in darkness. The walls, ceilings and floors were all perfectly polished black and the lights which hung from above just cast shadows across every surface. Bea was dragged through the house for so long she was sure there was no way that she could navigate her way back out again. Finally she was shoved into an extensive dining room which housed a multitude of Death Eaters, all of whom were in deep discussion until Rookwood cleared his throat loudly.

"We have brought a present."

What felt like hundreds of pairs of eyes snapped to Bianca and they all started murmuring quietly. She remained kneeling on the floor, her head lowered.

"What is this?"

Bianca's heart rate doubled and she closed her eyes, knowing full well that her father was slithering his way to the front.

"The girl has agreed to cooperate," Rookwood said, his voice shaking ever so slightly which amused Bianca, "She will join our ranks."

Bea opened her eyes to find herself face to face with Nagini who was curled around her on the floor and was gradually closing up the gap.

"And does she expect to be welcomed?" Voldemort hissed, "After all the humiliation and difficulty she has brought me?"

Rookwood faltered and stepped back, melting into the crowd. Nagini was now fully coiled around Bianca, beginning to slowly constrict her around the chest.

"You will do no good serving by my side, girl," Voldemort spat, "You are of no use to me. I know now that you would never be loyal. Nevertheless, I am glad of the chance to dispose of you properly. I think I will enjoy watching Nagini devour you. She is so longing for a good meal."

"I have never once brought humiliation to you," Bianca said, somewhat bravely, "You brought that upon yourself by having me. Just think, if you'd kept it in your pants, you'd never be in this position. How many times is it you've failed to kill me since? If you ask me, you've embarrassed yourself. I had nothing to do with it."

She gasped slightly as Nagini tightened her grip and she had to struggle for breath.

"You have more power than you know and more power than is good for you. I have given you many opportunities to stand with me where you belong, and yet you refused."

"But you knew I would never be loyal to you," Bianca croaked, "You can't win. It doesn't matter how many people you kill, no one will ever look up to you. You're not as powerful as you think you are."

Voldemort glared at her and raised his wand. With a quick flick, her lips sealed over and she found herself unable to speak. Of course this also made breathing much more difficult as she sat, desperately trying to inhale as much air as possible while the snake around her middle squeezed her tighter and tighter.

"You use your mouth far too much, girl. I would say it could get you killed, but I fear in this particular case that it has."

Bianca's head was spinning. The figures before her seemed to be dancing in her vision and she vaguely felt a deep cracking noise from her ribs as one snapped.

"If you please, my lord," a very familiar voice broke through the silence and, "Perhaps it would be better to spare the girl, for now."

"And fail to kill her once again, Severus? I think not."

"My lord, if she truly is as powerful as you say, it may prove useful to have her alive, as a weapon of sorts."

"We do not need another spy, Severus, you had proved more than suitable for that position."

"Forgive me, my lord, I mean not as a spy. I am merely suggesting that we keep her within our ranks. Potter and his friends would hesitate to hurt her in battle- she is too precious to them. Her presence amongst us would provide an opportunity for attack. Take them down while they are in shock. If people were to think that this whole time, she truly was loyal to you, my lord, it would save you the humiliation which she has placed upon you."

Voldemort considered this for what felt like years. Bianca's body was slowly shutting down and every so often, Nagini would hiss impatiently or flicker her tongue over Bianca's skin as if asking her to die faster. The snake was wrapped so tightly now, that Bianca thought if she lived through this experience, she'd permanently have an indentation around her middle.

"What you suggest Severus, is wise," Voldemort finally said and Snape dipped his head in appreciation, "However we both know, this girl could never stand by my side faithfully. It is more dangerous to us to keep her alive."

"There are means of ensuring her loyalty," Snape said, "And she alone possesses no threat against your immense power."

"On the contrary, she could cause a considerable amount of damage if she knew how."

"But she does not. This girl stands no chance against us."

After a few more agonising minutes of silence while Voldemort thought, he raised his hand and Nagini froze. As her master beckoned her towards him, she gradually uncurled herself from Bianca and slithered away with reluctance. Bianca toppled to the side, gasping for breath and desperately trying to inhale as much oxygen as she could into her lungs. Her chest and ribs burned as she lay uselessly on the floor, blubbering like a fish out of water. Her vision was too distorted to figure out who it was that stepped forward and took her wand before snapping it in two and dropping both segments onto the floor roughly.

"I want to keep an eye on you personally," Voldemort hissed to Bianca, "I trust no one else enough to ensure you stay."

He flicked his wand and Bianca didn't know what he had done until he began walking across the room. After a few steps a strange sensation came across Bianca, as though a rope was tied around her and was pulling her after him. In the time it took for her to realise what was going on, she'd already been dragged half way across the hall, much to her embarrassment.

"You had best learn to keep up, girl," Voldemort sneered at her.

All in all, her experience with the Death Eaters turned out to be some of the worst few days if her life. At night, she was thrown into a dungeon, tied up and tortured until she passed out, only to be healed and woken up in the morning. Throughout the day, the spell which had been cast upon her kept her either constantly next to Voldemort, or nearby with someone he deemed to be trustworthy enough. Thankfully, she didn't have to endure anything too traumatising- only meetings or discussions- until she was forced to accompany the Death Eaters to Gringotts bank in search of the sword of Gryffindor. She was slightly relieved when none of the bodies of her friends were sprawled on the floor, despite the horror of the slaughtered goblins.

As they had paraded down Diagon Alley, it had pained Bianca to walk past the remains of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. The colourful rubble seemed so dull when it didn't form to outline of a joy-filled shop. Voldemort seemed to notice her discomfort and sent a well-aimed 'bombarda' towards the debris, causing it all to explode impressively before they disapparated.

Her throat was raw and painful. The silencing charm which had been placed on her all those days ago did nothing to stop her screaming every single night until she was sure she could taste her own blood. She wasn't provided with any water to soothe it, of course, so instead spent all day breathing in cool air and swallowing as occasionally as she could get away with.

Snape had vanished to return to Hogwarts which Bianca found herself feeling disappointed at. After all, if it hadn't been for him, she would have certainly died.

Now that everyone was on high alert for Harry, Ron or Hermione, Bea spent a lot of time worrying about everyone. She knew Fred and George would be going insane stuck at Muriel's, not knowing what had happened to her, but it reassured her to know they'd gotten away safely and were with them family. Presumably, Ginny had been removed from Hogwarts and was also staying with them, so all Bianca could do was hope that the Death Eaters hadn't found them. She was also concerned about Sirius, Remus and Tonks and wondered vaguely if she'd had her baby yet. The idea of a cute little baby nearly cheered her up as she sat in the corner of a room, knees tucked up to her chest as the Death Eaters held a meeting which they had prevented her from hearing with a simple charm. She was absolutely exhausted. The constant abuse and then healing was not a pleasant experience and she didn't really think that lying passed out in a freezing dungeon counted as a good night's sleep.

Every so often she was allowed the luxury of a slice of bread or some cold, left over food, but that was hardly a substantial diet and she was fairly sure that she was eligible to snapping as easily as her wand had.

One evening, the day after they had visited Gringotts, Voldemort was in a meeting with some of his most elite followers when another Death Eater who Bianca didn't recognise, knocked quietly and nervously popped his head around the door and stood before them all, cowering slightly. Despite his horrified expression, the words that came out of his mouth shook the whole room.

"He's been seen in Hogsmeade," the man said shakily, "Harry Potter is going to Hogwarts."

Bianca's face fell instantly and she stood up horrified. She saw Voldemort scream in anger and instantly, the Death Eater who had bought the message had been blasted across the room in a green explosion, leaving him dead on the floor. The silencing charm from the meeting was lifted so Bianca could suddenly hear everything the group said. Most of them were either outraged or excited but gradually, they all turned to face their master, one by one.

"We'll attack the school and find Potter," he said once there was silence, "This ends tonight."

Fred and George stood gormlessly in the middle of the empty flat, staring at the spot where Bianca had just been.

"Did she just-" Fred began.

"Yes," George nodded solemnly.

"So that she could-"

"Yes."

"Just to save-"

"Yes, Fred. She did."

"Right."

They continued to stand there, completely horrified until George suddenly jerked and said, "We should go. Before they send someone else."

Fred nodded dumbly, took his brother's hand and they both disapparated to reappear in front of their Aunt Muriel's house. Mrs Weasley yanked the door open immediately and dragged them both into the building within a few seconds and was looking over them carefully.

"Thank goodness you're alright," she fussed, "Oh Bianca did such a good job of healing you. How are you feeling?" she didn't wait for them to answer, instead looking up and glancing around the hall. "Where's Bianca?"

The twins looked down sadly at their feet while Mrs Weasley opened the door again to peer outside. "Boys? Where is she?"

Without a word, Fred and George navigated their way through the old house to the kitchen where they sank into chairs next to their father. Mrs Weasley followed them, every so often glancing back over her shoulder as if Bianca might appear. She popped the kettle onto the stove as soon as she was in the kitchen and then faced the twins again.

"It's good to see you," Mr Weasley said with a tired smile, "Your mother told me about the incident at the shop- I'm so sorry."

"It'll rebuild," George said rather shortly.

"Right, yes, of course," Mr Weasley shuffled awkwardly in his seat, unused to seeing the boys so tense, "Will Bianca be along soon?"

"I doubt it," Fred said to the table.

Mr and Mrs Weasley shared an uncomfortable look.

"I take it we're all hiding here because everyone knows that we've been lying this whole time and Ron was seen with Harry before?" George clarified.

"Yes," Mr Weasley said, "They managed to escape and got to Shell Cottage where they're staying with Bill. But how did you know-"

"The Death Eaters told us Harry had been spotted," Fred said, "Just before they ran off with Bianca."

"Before they what-" Mrs Weasley dropped the mug she'd been clutching.

"Before they took Bianca," Fred said, "Just after we got your patronus, they came barging into the flat and told her that they'd kill us all if she didn't agree to go with them and-" he faltered.

"And what?" Mr Weasley asked gently.

"Join their ranks," George finished sadly, "She went with them to protect us all- so that we wouldn't have to watch each other slowly get murdered. But she's probably dead already. You-Know-Who wouldn't really keep her around. Not after she's refused for so long."

"Now boys," Mr Weasley said, "We don't know for sure that that's what happened. You know what Bea's like, she can look after herself."

"But when she's against him?" Fred looked up, "She's not Harry, dad, she won't survive a killing curse."

"You can't lose your heads over this," Mr Weasley chided, "There's no point worrying about the unknown. Ron's been missing for months, remember, and he turned out to be fine."

"That's completely different!" George said, "Did Ron get taken away by a group of Death Eaters? Did Ron go completely alone into the unknown? Did Ron fail to have any time whatsoever to prepare for what he might have to do? No!"

"That doesn't make it any safer."

The twins sighed and looked around the room, "Where's Ginny and the old bat?" George asked.

Mrs Weasley scowled, "Fred, don't be rude."

George chose not to correct her and said, "Alright, where's our lovely sister and the old bat?"

"Ginny's upstairs in her room and Muriel is in the sitting room," Mr Weasley said, fighting a smirk.

"I'm going to bring her tea, if you'd like to go and say hello," Mrs Weasley said.

"No thanks," Fred turned his nose up, "I'm already miserable enough."

Mr Weasley looked at him sympathetically and attempted a reassuring smile which, over the next few days, became an expression he pulled regularly. Fred and George did their best to keep out of everyone else's way, hiding in a spare room and keeping up with a few owl orders for their business. They couldn't offer the full extent of products because it was difficult to create and invent while being stuck in an old house.

At times, it almost felt like they were still working from their flat while Bianca was at St Mungo's and that she'd come home any second and have dinner with them. But then, they'd reach for something, sure it would be in its usual place but instead found it in a box on the other side of the room and they'd remember that they weren't in their shop at all.

Quite a while after they arrived at Muriel's house, Fred was digging through his bag, looking for some clean socks when he came across his old Dumbledore's Army coin in a side pocket.

"Hey George," Fred held up his finding, "Why do you think she packed this?"

George shrugged, "Safe keeping?" he suggested, "It could have been stolen at the flat."

"Maybe," he rubbed his finger over the engraving and placed it in his back pocket. "Do you think she's alive?"

George nodded, "Yes."

Fred looked up at George in surprise, "Really?"

"Why, do you not?"

"I mean, obviously I hope she is, but George, she got taken by Death Eaters. Death Eaters who have been trying to kill her for years now!"

"And for years, she's gotten away," George pointed out.

"There has to be one time," Fred said, "It sucks not knowing."

"Well by all means go to the Manor and knock on the door," George suggested, "But somehow I don't think you'd get very far and Bianca wouldn't be happy if she found out after what she did for us, you went and got yourself killed."

"I just want to know that she's ok," Fred said, "Why is that too much to ask?"

"I'm sure we'll see her soon enough."

Fred sighed and flopped backwards onto the floor, holding the coin above his face only to sit up suddenly when it began to glow and words began to form.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Bianca was standing amongst hundreds of Death Eaters looking across at her school in fear. It didn't look any different to the last time she had seen it, but last time she had been there, she wasn't standing amongst her enemies. She was almost expecting there to be fires blazing and people screaming, but the castle was still and peaceful, seemingly unaware of the oncoming attacks. Bianca was numb to everything except fear and guilt, so was surprised when she found herself pushed to the back of the group, no longer bound to her father's side. Glancing around, she spotted Draco and Narcissa Malfoy standing to one side, heads hung almost sheepishly. Not wanting to bring any attention to herself, Bianca slowly edged towards Draco and carefully placed a hand on his arm.

"They're getting ready to fight," the boy said quietly.

"We should go in," Bianca whispered back, "To warn them or at least do something."

So, with a strange mutual agreement and a nod of approval from Narcissa, the pair edged away from the rest unnoticed. Along the way, they picked up Crabbe and Goyle who trudged behind them grumpily. By some miracle, they managed to slip away from the crowd unnoticed and began hurriedly making their way towards the castle.

The four rushed through the corridors, eyes peeled for someone they might recognise. Bianca was hoping especially to spot a flash of ginger hair somewhere after going so long without her family. Her heart skipped when three people, one of which with a head full of fiery red hair ran straight past them and into the Room of Requirement. She chased after them immediately, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle right behind her.

'I need to get to them,' Bianca thought as she paced back and forward in front of the hidden entrance, 'I have to find Ron and Harry'. She was opening the door as soon as it began to appear and off running through the rows of miscellaneous items. Malfoy and his minions had gone off in a separate direction in their own search for Harry so Bianca was alone in the huge room. A loud, echoing crash grabbed her attention and dragged her towards to source, her body barely keeping up with her legs. She arrived on the scene of the noise to see Harry facing Crabbe and Goyle while Malfoy stood to one side looking at his old friends in fear.

"Harry?" Ron's voice came from somewhere fairly close by, "What's going on?"

"Harry?" Crabbe mimicked Ron, smirking horribly, "What's going- no, Potter! Crucio!"

"No!" Bianca deflected Crabbe's curse just in time to protect Harry who had made a lunge for a tiara. In the blast of the spells, the small crown had flown up into the air and vanished into the mass of objects.

As the students duelled, Malfoy argued with his friends, trying to take back control. Hermione had appeared to support Harry but neither of them had seen Bianca yet. When Ron too came around the corner to help, Bianca moved away. Knowing that it must be important if Harry had been trying to get the tiara so badly, she went off in search of it. She seemed to be climbing over endless piles of junk but just as she spotted the small, sparkling diadem, she began to feel uncomfortably hot as if she'd been shoved into a sauna for too long. Wiping some sweat from her forehead, she continued to climb towards the tiara, ignoring the shouting which sounded like it was coming from above her. The room was now illuminated in a deep orange light and black clouds hung in the air. It was only then that Bianca understood the reason for the sweltering heat. The Room of Requirement was on fire.

She dived the last few meters to the diadem and stood on the mountain of lost items, holding it high in the air. She could see her friends flying above her, dancing around the magical flames and shouted for Harry, desperate to grab his attention.

"Harry!" she bellowed, "Harry, I've got it! Down here!"

The shimmering from the diadem must have grabbed Harry's attention as he glanced down and pulled his broom into a dive. Malfoy screamed loudly and gripped onto the broom tightly. On his first attempt, all Harry managed to do was grab the tiara which was now becoming uncomfortable hot in Bianca's hand. The flames were rising gradually around her as Harry turned mid-air and dipped back down. Malfoy stretched out his arm as the pair got closer to Bea, but she could feel the items she was standing on start to crumble and collapse. She knew Harry wouldn't get back to her in time so took a deep breath and leapt up as far as she could, almost certain she'd end up plummeting into the fire below.

At first, she thought time must have slowed down in the few seconds before her death and that she'd feel every part of her last living moments in excruciating slow-motion. At the highest point of her epic jump, it was like she'd stopped and was floating in some pre-deathly apparition. But then, she looked at the flames which engulfed every wall. They were still dancing to the same rapid tempo as before. And Harry and Draco were still zooming towards her with the same speed. It wasn't time that had stopped- it was Bianca. She was hovering at the peak of her jump, flying independently hundreds of meters above ground.

The second Bianca realised that she was in fact floating, panic set in. Her heart raced and her breathing became erratic. Then suddenly air was whooshing past her and Harry was no longer getting closer. Bea closed her eyes, accepting that whatever strange miracle which had given her the chance of survival had not been enough and that her time really was up. She was sure that she was about to hit the ground and it would all be over when a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her forward.

Opening her eyes one at a time, she saw Malfoy awkwardly twisted on the broom so that he could catch her without falling off himself.

"Did you get her?" Harry demanded from the front, now zooming towards the door.

"Yes," Malfoy said, "I got her."

"What are you doing here?" Harry then shouted back at Bianca, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"It's a long story," Bianca said, "I'll explain later. Why's the tiara so important?"

"I'll explain later," Harry said with a small smirk.

They burst through a small hole in the wall and spilled out into the corridor, Ron, Hermione and an unconscious Goyle following. Bianca shot to her feet immediately and began looking around. There were explosions and shouts coming from all angles and to Bea, that meant only one thing. The Death Eaters had got in. She didn't bother healing Goyle, figuring he'd only cause more trouble if he was awake. She did, however, take a moment to look over Harry, Ron and Hermione, hug them all and check they were ok before turning to see two very familiar people enter the corridor, duelling back to back.

"Fred-" Bianca breathed. Her eyes flicked around the area, searching desperately for someone she knew in her heart wasn't there. But he had to be there. He'd promised. They'd both promised. They'd both stood in front of her and sworn to stay together. So where was George now?

"Did I mention I'm resigning?" Percy was saying, with a small smile on his face.

"You're joking Perce!" Fred's face lit up and Bianca took that moment to start running towards him desperately, "You actually are joking, Perce. I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-" he stopped as his eyes fell on Bianca.

She'd seen the Death Eater raise his wand out of the corner of her eye and stopped making her way towards her brothers, knowing there was no way she could get there first. Instead, she sent a quick yet powerful and well-aimed stunning spell in Fred's direction, which sent him flying to the side just as the air exploded and blew the rest of the group away.

Bianca coughed, and gasped as she hit the floor. However, she wasted no time in jumping up, ignoring her slightly distorted senses from the explosion and running back towards Fred. Ron and Percy were already there, kneeling next to a body. She almost faltered and stopped, fearing she hadn't done enough after all, but forced herself forward.

Percy looked up at her with nothing but fear in his eyes, "Can you fix him?"

Bianca's eyes fell to Fred. His eyes were closed, his mouth still curled into a small smile. Every inch of his body was covered in bruises or cuts and his clothes were torn. Burn marks imprinted the side of his face and his hair was swept in all different directions.

"Bianca-" Percy said.

"Do something!" Ron shouted, "You're a healer, aren't you?"

"I- I don't know what to do," Bianca stuttered. Her mind was fixed in the last time she'd been forced to heal the twins when their shop had been attacked. She'd thought then that they'd both been close to dying, but now… Now there were no indications whatsoever that Fred Weasley was in fact alive.

"Bea," Percy said, "Please. You're the only one who can do anything."

She sunk to her knees, taking Fred's cold hand in both of hers, studying his corpse-like figure. Ron and Hermione were sobbing loudly but it was Percy's next words that shocked her into action, "Think of George."

Just like that, her wand was out and she was working harder than she'd ever worked before. Similarly to when she'd healed Sirius at the Ministry, Bianca's mind was numb to what she was doing, focused only on making sure Fred didn't die. Percy was next to her, fighting with the others against some abnormally large spiders.

"We have to move!" someone was shouting.

"No," Bianca said quietly.

"There's nothing we can-"

"No!" she shouted louder, "Just give me a chance. Please."

But Harry and Percy were already lifting Fred and moving him away. Hermione, still shaking slightly, pulled Bianca up and dragged her after them. The boys had put Fred down in a niche which Bianca was sure used to contain a suit of armour and hid behind a tapestry, but Bianca didn't follow them, instead crowding into the gap next to Fred and continuing her work. Not once had she stopped to see if he was actually still alive. For all she knew, he could have died ten minutes ago and she could have been wasting her time healing a corpse. She wouldn't stop though. Not until she could see his chest rising and falling or hear him laughing or feel the warmth in his hands again. Not until she had Fred back.

A hand on her shoulder nearly snatched her attention. She hadn't really even noticed that Percy had left, but now he was back by her side.

"We'll take him to the Great Hall," he said as calmly as he could, "Madame Pomfrey can help you."

Bianca's shoulders slumped and she nodded dejectedly, allowing Percy to gently pick up his brother and carry him through Hogwarts. She followed behind, wand still out in front of her to protect Percy if need be. As soon as Fred was placed safely in the Great Hall, Bianca dropped down next to him and once again resumed work. Madame Pomfrey was next to her in a heartbeat. After a long while, the older healer sat back and gently placed a hand on Bianca's wand to lower it.

"That's all we can do now," she said.

"Is he dead?" Bianca stuttered.

Madame Pomfrey didn't reply for a while, "No," she said, but it sounded almost like a question, "But-"

"So why have we stopped?" Bianca demanded, "We need to-"

"There's nothing else we can do," Madame Pomfrey told her calmly, "It's up to him to stay alive."

She got to her feet and rushed away to greet Sirius and Tonks who had just entered the hall supporting Lupin who was slumped and bleeding heavily from a deep chest wound. Not able to bare the sight of Fred's injured body any longer, Bianca too got to her feet and ran from the room to help the fight. Spells were flying everywhere as she darted through the corridors, but none of them hit her. Finally, she spotted who she was looking for in the far end of the castle, fighting side by side with his father. A man, identical to the one she had left in the Great Hall was determinedly duelling a Death Eater. In that moment, Bianca didn't know what to feel. Anger, because the twins had broken their promise to protect each other, or relief that at least George was still standing strong?

She didn't have long to decide as the battle stopped and a voice filled everyone's heads. "You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses," Bianca's eyes flicked to George just as his did to hers and they stood, staring at each other, void of emotion while Voldemort spoke, "If you continue to resist me, you will all die one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead." Bianca looked away from George. "Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of the hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then the battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter and I shall find you, and punish every last man, woman and child who tries to conceal you from me.

"And finally, my daughter," Bianca winced and stared at the floor, eyes shut, "You will join Mr Potter and come to me in the Forbidden Forest to receive the fate and punishment you have avoided for far too long. You can't hide from who you are forever. And if you hide from me once more, I will dispose of every person you fight alongside in this castle. One hour."

As soon as the voice had faded, Bianca ran straight to George, tears streaming down her face. George held her close to his chest, chin resting on her head. They stood for a few minutes, enjoying being with each other once again until Bianca remembered Fred and pulled away.

"You promised me!" she screamed, punching George as hard as she could in the chest. He stumbled away, looking shocked, mouth agape.

"You promised you'd stay together!" Bianca yelled in anger, "That you'd look after each other! You told me that you wouldn't go anywhere without each other. It was all meant to be fine! You were meant to be alright! Both of you! But now…" she faltered and had to force herself to keep looking at George, "Now Fred's-"

George didn't wait to hear the end of her sentence. His face had paled as soon as Bianca had started mentioning his promise and he ran from the room, pushing past the crowds who were making their way to the hall, some injured, others not. Bianca and Mr Weasley followed behind, making their way down the path which George created for them when he shoved people aside.

There were bodies lining the Great Hall and families mourning next to their loved ones. Percy was the only one with Fred, looking at his brother's body. With each tear that fell form his rosy cheek, another drop of hope seemed to leave him. George had stopped in the door, eyes fixed on his lifeless reflection.

"Tell me he's alive," he whispered, taking Bianca's hand.

Bianca nodded, "Just. But George-"

"I don't care," he said sharply, "If he's alive now, he can be alive tomorrow, and then next week and then-"

"George, he's not necessarily going to be ok."

But George didn't listen and hurriedly made his way over to his twin, dropping to his knees and stroking Fred's hair. Mr Weasley and Percy were in deep discussion with Madame Pomfrey to one side and the hall was gradually filling up with people both dead and alive. Mrs Weasley rushed in manically, looking around for her family and it was easy to see the horror fill her at the sight of George crying over Fred's body. When he saw his wife put a hand to her mouth and her shoulders start to shake, he excused himself from his conversation with Percy and Madame Pomfrey and rushed over to her.

"Now, Molly," he said gently, "It's not as bad as it seems."

"My poor boy!" Mrs Weasley wailed and dropped next to George.

"Listen to me, Molly," Mr Weasley said sternly, "He's not dead."

"Yet," George said miserably.

"George," Mr Weasley said, tears running down his own cheeks, "It'll be fine."

"Will it?" George looked up, "He's dying, Bea! Actually dying!"

"But he's not dead."

The pair looked at each other for a while, both with the same look of fear and despair in their eyes. George's heart had been completely ripped apart. This was so unbelievably different to every other time one of them had been injured. Sitting in a room full of corpses and mourning families made it seem like Fred had rung death's doorbell and was just waiting for it to open for him just like it had opened for everyone else. When Bill joined them a few minutes later with his arm around Ginny protectively, he had to grab onto his sister tighter to keep her on her feet.

"We need to move him somewhere out the way," Percy said seriously, "Where he can't be hurt anymore."

"He needs a healer," George cried.

Bianca's heart shattered watching how broken George was clutching onto his twin's body as if hoping that his presence there would bring him back. She hated to see him stripped of any humour or joy because all the joy he had, everything he relied on was lying millimetres from death next to him. She hated how after so long without seeing her family, this was how they were brought back together. No one except George and Percy had really even acknowledged her in the situation as she stood to one side, shaking as she wept.

"Madame Pomfrey has done everything she can already," Mr Weasley said, "There are other people who need looking after."

"Fred's more important!" George shouted. He looked at Bianca, fire in his eyes, "Why aren't you doing something?"

The rest of the family looked up at Bianca, shocked to see her but she looked away guiltily, "I can't."

"She's already tried, George," Percy said, "If it wasn't for her, Fred would have died hours ago."

Mrs Weasley got to her feet and stumbled over to Bianca, wrapping her in a hug, "I'm so glad you're ok," she blubbed, "Thank you for saving him."

Bea couldn't find the words to reply. She wanted to tell her family how much she loved them and how sorry she was that she might not have done enough. Instead, she simply broke down in her mother's embrace. At some point, Ron and Hermione joined them, both looking at Fred sadly. The Great Hall was now full of hopeless-looking people. Walls were lined with bodies and adults were running about using every healing spell they knew to try and help the injured. Part of Bianca felt like she should be helping- she was, after all, a trained healer. But what good would healing them now do when they would all be slaughtered later? She knew exactly what she would have to do if she wanted to actually help these people.

So, as soon as her family had returned to worrying about Fred, she slipped away and ran from the Great Hall. She and Harry had a job to do.


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Bianca had barely taken a few steps outside when someone grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face them.

"Tell me you aren't going to him," George said, voice hollow.

"George, I have to," Bianca said, finding it difficult to look at him and not see Fred's lifeless face, "He'll kill everyone otherwise."

"You can't," George cried, "He'll kill you!"

"I know. But it's me or countless others."

"What about Fred? You saved his life, he'll want to see you when he wakes up. How am I meant to tell him that-"

"You'll still have each other," Bianca smiled sadly, "The bond that you two have is so much more important than anything either of you have with me."

"He loves you! We both love you too much to let you do this."

"You don't have a choice."

"I can't lose you both," George sobbed, face soaking wet from the river of tears flowing from his broken eyes.

"You won't. Fred's going to be fine, ok? Everything will be ok."

"Please. Fred and I need you."

"If it were as easy as just the three of us, I'd stay," Bianca said, "If it were as simple as you, me and Fred, I wouldn't go anywhere. But it's not like that, George. There are hundreds and hundreds of other witches and wizards who don't deserve to have their lives ruined. You heard what he said- he'll kill anyone to get to me. I can't let him do that."

"We only just got you back," George pleaded, "I can't let you go again. Fred would hate me. They would all hate me."

"No one will hate you, George," Bianca sighed, "I should have died when I was a baby. I should never have even been in your family. But ever since I first entered the Burrow, all of you have done nothing but look after me and protect me for twenty years. Now it's my turn to protect you."

George held her close to him, tears falling from his face and onto her hair, "I love you so much," he said quietly.

"I love you too," Bianca said, trying desperately not to cry, "Both of you. Tell Fred I'm sorry."

George chose not to remind her that he might not ever have the chance to pass her message onto Fred. Despite physically getting out of the battle unscathed so far, emotionally, he had been killed multiple times already. He hadn't wanted to leave Fred's side to chase after Bianca and every minute he spent away from his twin was another layer of pain around his heart. He couldn't bare the thought of something happening when he wasn't there but as soon as Bianca had left, he'd realised exactly what she was going to do and followed. She pulled away from his embrace, fighting off tears and smiled at him. George kissed her on the head gently and let her go. It took every inch of will power he had left not to sink to his knees and cry as she walked away from him for what was sure to be the last time.

Once Bianca was out of eye-sight, he fell against the wall and slid down to the floor, knees tucked up to his chest and entire body shaking as he sobbed violently. For the first time in his life, George Weasley had no hope. No one had any confidence that Fred would survive and recover and now Bianca was gone too. He had been left alone in the middle of a war by the two people he needed the most. The joy he'd felt upon seeing Bianca alive in the Hogwarts corridors had been so unbelievable. For a second he'd allowed himself to believe that everything might turn out alright. That was until she'd started screaming at him, he'd seen his twin lying practically dead on the floor, hundreds of their friends had been injured and Bianca had left to sacrifice herself. And Fred's injuries now weren't like anything either of the twins had ever sustained before. Even when George had lost his ear or they'd both been hurt in the fight at the shop, it had never felt to either of them that they might not make it. When George had woken up in Bianca's flat and seen Fred so helpless and covered in cuts, he hadn't really been worried that his twin would die. Of course, the injuries were serious, but not fatal- not really. Now, however, Fred had been crushed completely. Most of his bones were broken, there seemed to be blood coming from every part of his body, his organs were failing and his skin was becoming more grey by the second. George had no choice but to accept that this time, it might not all be ok.

It was Bill who came out to find George about half an hour later when the whole family had started to get worried. He hadn't moved from his cramped position against the wall and his shoulders still trembled. Bill sighed sympathetically and crouched down next to his younger brother, carefully placing a hand on George's back.

"Come inside, George," he said gently, "It's not safe out here."

Surprisingly, George didn't even protest, he just silently got to his feet and headed back into the castle, leaving Bill to stare after him in shock. He's expected some sort of protest or even have to end up carrying George back inside. He certainly didn't think George would willingly stride back to his family and quietly retake his position next to Fred. Upon his arrival, Mrs Weasley began sobbing again and clutched onto Mr Weasley.

"George," Percy said solemnly, "Where's Bianca?"

George's shoulders deflated and he looked down to the floor, "With Harry I suspect."

"No," Ginny gasped, "You don't mean she- they-"

George shrugged, "Bea did. I can only assume that Harry did too. He likes to be heroic like that."

And if anyone in the family had any structure left, at that point, it crumbled. Although neither of them shared the Weasley name, Harry and Bianca had been part of their family. Without a word, they'd both just left to allow themselves to be killed for the greater good. Ginny began wailing horribly but everyone was too caught up in their own grief to comfort her. Sirius, who had been heading over to check in on the family had frozen when he heard Harry's name mentioned and was now pacing around the room angrily. Every so often he would glance down at Lupin who was lying in a similar position to Fred but was in no immediate risk of dying. Tonks was curled up next to him resting peacefully. George looked over with a pang of jealousy. He wished he could relax knowing that Fred would be ok like Tonks could sleep knowing Remus would wake up and be with her. Bill and Fleur sat to one side, heads pressed together in a subdued silence. Mrs Weasley's weeping had reduced to the occasional sniff as she knelt by Fred's head, stroking his hair lovingly. Ron and Hermione were standing a little way away from the rest of the family in deep discussion but both with pale faces and puffy eyes.

No one was rejoicing about Percy's return when it felt like some cruel trick. The family had been together again for all of a few hours when Fred had been torn from them, possibly for good. Mr Weasley was arguing with anyone he could over his opinion that Fred should be moved somewhere safer and treated properly out the way of the battle while everyone was repeatedly telling him that there was no possible way of leaving the castle safely. Everything was in ruins. Common rooms, classrooms, lives. All destroyed faster than anyone could realise.

Walking away from George was the hardest thing Bianca had ever done. She wanted to stay in his arms forever, savouring his love and warmth. She wanted to be by his side when Fred woke up and enjoy the rest of her life with both the twins. But she never got to say goodbye to Fred. Or even hello after her grand return. All she could think about as she walked across the courtyard and towards the forest was the Weasleys. Their smiling faces were engraved in her retinas but in a way, she was glad that her family would be the last thing she'd think about before she was killed… by her father. She'd never properly appreciated how beautiful the Hogwarts grounds were. When she'd arrived for her first year all that time, Bianca had seen the castle as some sort of fairytale setting where she was sure to have so many adventures. It would be somewhere she could live and not be different to everyone else around her. Now, only when it all seemed to be falling apart or burning, she could see the power that the Hogwarts held. Thousands of students' stories were held within the walls. Secrets and tales of every person who had ever set foot there were hidden and locked away somewhere on the grounds. Every witch and wizard in Britain had been taught there and called it home for seven long years.

Bianca wished she knew if Harry had made the same horrible decision as her. If he would be joining her in the forest for the very end. It was such a strange feeling, knowing that now was the last time she'd step on this area of grass or look at that particular tree. It was odd knowing exactly what she'd left behind and what Harry would leave behind but not ever being able to return to it. She'd never see the twins again. Or Mr and Mrs Weasley. Or the rest of her family, Hermione, Sirius, Lupin, Angelina, Lee, Alicia, Katie, Kyle, Daisy. So many people she loved and cared about. But that was exactly why she had to leave. They didn't deserve to live under the control of her father and suffer. Presumably Harry would have a plan. Ron and Hermione would know how to end the war for good and save everyone. That thought was what made her keep walking through the forest; the idea that all her friends and family and even the people she'd never met would be able to live a normal, happy life, was a good enough reason to make her continue.

She wasn't sure how she knew where she was going, but somehow she finally ended up in a clearing covered in old cobwebs and crowded with Death Eaters. By this point, she was covered in a cold sweat and her heart was hammering against her chest so violently she feared she might end up with heart failure before Voldemort would have the chance to kill her. There was no sign of Harry and the look on her father's face told her that the hour was nearly up. They all feared he wouldn't come. One by one, the Death Eaters noticed her presence and turned to face her. Before long, she was completely encircled and only one had their back turned towards her.

Torturously slowly, Lord Voldemort turned to face Bianca, fire in his red eyes. She refused to look away, holding his icy gaze in her own until one of them spoke.

"I wanted to love you," he said quietly, "When I first found out. I wanted to raise a child I could be proud of. Who could rule with me. Who possessed the same great power as I. I wanted a child I could love as much as I loved your mother."

Bianca scoffed, "You don't know what love is."

His eyes flashed dangerously, but he continued as if she hadn't spoken at all, "I was almost happy when she told me. But then, I saw the fear in her eyes, lined with disappointment and I knew. She didn't want to be the mother of my child. She was ashamed and she didn't feel the same as I felt about her. Your mother was just there with me for the power, not for love. Then it suddenly all became too much. I knew then that I couldn't be a father. I should have killed her when she told me. You should never have even been born. Ever since then, I have missed every opportunity to kill you. Tonight, however, I will not. You will die," he promised. "There is no one left to save you."

With a flick of his hand, several thick ropes appeared in mid-air and began moving toward her, threatening to wrap her up. Bianca looked down at them, squinted slightly and the ropes stopped. She could feel them trying to move back towards her and fight against her but effortlessly, she held them in place before looking up to Voldemort.

"I don't need anyone to save me," she said, and the ropes vanished. "The great thing about genetics, father, is that things get passed on. And do you know something that you so kindly passed down to me?"

Voldemort glared at her, wand raised threateningly. Bianca smirked triumphantly in return, ignoring her overwhelming fear, "Your power. I came here to die," she said, "I won't let the people I love suffer because of me. But it looks like you need some entertainment until Harry arrives. So why not make it interesting? What satisfaction does killing me quickly give you after twenty years?"

A trees tump next to her exploded so suddenly, she nearly flinched. Instead, she forced herself to only smile a little and draw her wand calmly.

"Bianca," a gruff voice said from next to her, full of warning. She glanced to the side quickly to see Hagrid standing dejectedly by a tree, tied up and restrained. She sent him an apologetic look and turned back to Voldemort who had taken a few steps forward. Before either of them could do anything, two more Death Eaters Bianca recognised to be Yaxley and Dolohov entered the clearing solemnly.

They joined the circle of Death Eaters and Dolohov spoke, "No sign of him, my Lord."

Bianca was shocked. The hour was up and Harry hadn't come. In the few seconds it took her to look around the clearing, the thick, black ropes reappeared and bound her tightly. Suddenly she was floating a couple of centimetres from the ground, struggling desperately but unable to do anything. The faint smell of burning reached her nostrils and she looked down to see the ropes searing through her robes and gradually getting closer to her skin. Immediately, she stopped thrashing and stayed perfectly still.

"I thought he would come," Voldemort said, "I expected him to come."

The Death Eaters were silent but Bianca was sure she saw Hagrid's shoulder's sag in relief out the corner of her eye.

"I was, it seems… mistaken." It sounded like a challenge. As if he expected Harry to materialise in front of him at his words.

"You weren't."

Bianca gasped. Harry's voice had been the last thing she expected to hear. When he didn't show up within the hour, she assumed it must have been part of a bigger plan and that he really wasn't coming at all. But there he was, standing as bravely as he could in the fire light. He looked exhausted and the flames only accentuated the dark circles under his eyes.

Bianca's heart broke as Hagrid cried out, "Harry! No! No! No! Harry what're yeh-?"

It only took the flick of a Death Eater's wand to leave Hagrid opening and closing his mouth with no noise coming from it. Harry and Voldemort stood face to face. Harry made no move to get his wand, instead standing neutrally, hands by his sides. Bianca was now numb to the searing pain from the red hot ropes and could see nothing but the two wizards in front of her. She shook her head as Voldemort raised his wand. Harry's eyes never once flicked to her.

"Harry Potter. The boy who lived."

"No," Bianca whispered, "No, no, no."

There was a blinding flash of green light and she fell to the ground, the ropes vanished, leaving only strange looking burn marks in lines across her arms, legs and body. She got to her feet and looked around. Harry was lying completely lifelessly, mouth agape and arm bent strangely. Before she even took in the fact that he was dead, her tears were watering the forest floor. Bianca forced her eyes away and saw Voldemort lying similarly to Harry, Death Eaters crowded around him. She didn't dare move, in fear of being killed immediately.

"Bianca."

She turned to Hagrid. He too looked distraught. "Tell me he's alright," he sobbed, "He ain't dead."

Bianca swallowed a lump and looked away from the giant sadly. Voldemort was getting to his feet now, persistently avoiding the offered help from his followers.

"I do not require assistance," he hissed, regaining his composure. "The boy… is he dead?"

The forest went completely still. Not one being moved even an inch towards Harry . Quickly, Voldemort turned to Narcissa Malfoy, "You," he sent a small firework at her from the end of his wand and she shrieked, "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."

Cautiously, Narcissa made her way over to Harry's body and bent down next to him, practically concealing him with her body. In a way Bianca was glad her eyes were shielded from seeing her friend's corpse. After a painfully long minute, Narcissa stood tall and announced, "He is dead!"

There were cheers and shouts of joy. Bianca fell to her knees again, her body screaming in pain both emotional and physical. Bursts of colour were flying into the air as celebration.

"You see! Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!"

Bianca watched in absolute horror as Harry's body was thrown about by Voldemort. It was tortured and beaten. His glasses went flying. Eventually, Bianca had enough. Anger rose inside of her and she shot to her feet and ran over to Harry who had fallen in the middle of the clearing. She stopped only to collect his glasses and then threw herself over him, protecting him from any more damage.

"That's enough!" she screamed, gently stroking his hair and carefully replacing his glasses. "That's enough," she repeated, quieter. She looked up at Voldemort, "You've done it," she spat, "You killed him. Now stop."

A strange energy was surrounding her. Many of the Death Eaters still had their wands raised and looked like they wanted nothing more than to fire multiple not-so-nice curses at her but no matter how hard they tried, no spells came from their wands. Voldemort studied her angrily.

"Now, we go to the castle and show them what has become of their hero. Who shall drag the body? No- wait-" he indicated to Hagrid who was dragged forward roughly by some Death Eaters. "You carry him. He will be nice and visible in your arms, will he not? Pick up your little friend, Hagrid. Get out the way, girl."

Bianca was thrown back a couple of feet and forced to watch as Hagrid reluctantly bent down and, with gentleness she didn't know he possessed, scooped up Harry. Part of her wanted to ask what would happen to her. She knew if she spoke, she would most likely be killed immediately. Then at least she would be spared the heartbreak of seeing everyone's faces when they saw Harry dead.

Voldemort turned to her, "For all the trouble you and your family have caused me, I think I'll deal with you when we get there."

She knew exactly what that meant. Once everyone had gathered outside the castle to greet him, Voldemort would murder her in front of them just to rub in his victory. Harry was already dead- no one could stop him. And for all the help the Weasley's had provided over the years to both Harry and Bianca, they would have to watch her die. She walked by Hagrid's side the whole way, clutching onto Harry's limp hand. For once in her life, she didn't want to go back to Hogwarts.

When they reached the edge of the forest, Voldemort stepped forward and amplified his voice so that the entirety of Hogwarts could hear him. "Harry Potter is dead," he said with glee, "He was killed as he ran away…" Bianca stopped listening at that point. She was full with so much anger and grief that she felt listening to Voldemort speak now would make her do something she would come to regret.

Hagrid began sobbing again as the army moved onwards. The castle didn't seem as enchanting as it had once been. Bianca looked at the ruins before her as Voldemort pulled her forward, ripping her hand from Harry's. He pushed her to the ground and stepped back slightly. Bianca fixed her stare at the ground, not wanting to see her friends flood out of the castle. It tore her apart when she heard McGonagall, Hermione, Ron and Ginny scream and call out for Harry.

"It is over!" Voldemort announced victoriously, "Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs."

Bianca tilted her head to the side to see Hagrid kneel down and place Harry gently on the cobbled floor next to her. She had to choke back another sob and turned back to look anywhere else.

"You see? Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him. He was nothing," Voldemort repeated, "And neither was she."

He stepped in front of Bianca and pulled her to her feet, "My daughter." She refused to look anywhere but him. She could practically picture the look on George's face and vaguely wondered if Fred was there with him.

"Too much like me for your own good," Voldemort hissed quietly so that only she would hear.

"I am nothing like you," Bianca sneered back and then spat directly onto his robes, "And I'm proud of that."

Very simply, Voldemort reached into his robes and produced his wand. Bianca stood tall and proud, her chin raised as he took a step back and said two words.

"A-Avada Kedavra."


	58. Chapter 58

A/N: For anyone who was against Fred x Bianca being together, probably consider this one of the last few chapters. I can't seem to make myself stop writing so if you don't like the idea of their relationship, be aware that in a couple of chapters, they do start getting closer. If you want you can accept that Fred survives and gets better and they all live happily ever after. Just warning you so I don't end up ruining the story for you! :D

Also idk why the first time I uploaded this the formatting was weird but hopefully it's fixed now. Thanks to the people who let me know!

Chapter 58

Death was strangely painful. Bianca was so sure it would be like everything had just turned off and she'd feel no more. She thought it would be as quick as flicking a switch or pressing a button which would just end everything. She was not expecting to be able to feel every piece of gravel sticking into her back or hear every cry of anguish. But she could. Her burn marks ached, and her ribs cried out when a foot connected violently with them in a triumphant kick. She could pick out Mrs Weasley's sobbing, Ginny's wailing and even George's horrified silence. What was even stranger was that she was so sure that she might be able to view things from a sort of out of body experience like an angel looking down on everyone but what she was feeling was definitely to her own corpse. She could feel whoever was beating her up and hear the jeers of the Death Eaters, but she was unable to move or do anything to stop it. Everything she'd ever been led to believe was that dying was so easy and nothing to fear. This was certainly not easy, and Bianca was certainly scared. She felt trapped, not free. When she considered it more, she realised that perhaps it wasn't best to believe what you're told when it comes to dying. After all, nobody has ever returned from the dead, so how would anyone really know what it was like? Not that it mattered now. Bianca was dead.

She tried to understand what was happening around her at Hogwarts and how the war was playing out. The kicking and beating to her body had ceased and she was sure she could now hear Neville talking, but a faint thumping from within her was distracting. A thumping which was accompanied by sound of rushing water and a steady gust of wind blowing. Except it wasn't water or wind. Bianca was gradually becoming more and more convinced that she could hear her own heart pumping and the blood rushing through her body and her breath slowly entering and exiting her lungs. As if she were actually alive. Full of confusion, she focused everything on the middle finger of her left hand and, with every bit of effort she possessed, she managed to twitch it so slightly that no one would possibly have noticed. It was such a small movement that there was barely a gap between her skin and the gravel before she had to lower it again but it was a movement and it was enough to prove to Bianca that she was in fact alive.

After establishing that she couldn't move any more than a tiny twitch, she turned her attention to figuring out how she'd survived. She'd been standing in front of her father as he raised his wand, so ready to die, already accepting that she wasn't going to live for longer than a few seconds. And then he'd said those two little words. She could still hear them like an echo in her brain. His exact pronunciation haunting her…

His pronunciation.

"A-Avada Kedavra."

Had she imagined the stutter? Were these just the crazy thoughts of a helpless dying girl? Or had Lord Voldemort really hesitated to kill someone? The Unforgivable Curses wouldn't work unless you really meant them, Bianca knew that. She knew that if her father had tried to kill her using a knife or one of those funny Muggle weapons that she would be dead. Inanimate objects don't understand the intent behind attacks when they're used. But magic is different.

Because, no matter how much he hated her, or how much built up anger Voldemort possessed towards Bianca, she was the closest thing he had to love. She was the only person left in the entire world who could have loved him. None of his loyal followers were sided with him because they loved him but because they wanted power. And the only woman who had been different had been dead for twenty years. After he killed her.

That was why he hated Bianca so much. That was why he gave her so many chances to side with him. He had always told his Death Eaters to bring Harry Potter to him but to kill Bianca on sight. Even when she'd been bought to Malfoy Manor, it was Nagini who nearly constricted her to death. Voldemort hated his daughter because she didn't love him. She considered another man to be her father. She stood by the Weasleys instead of him. And that was exactly why she wasn't dead. There had been no feeling behind the spell. No matter how much Voldemort needed to kill her, he didn't want to.

In that moment, Bianca felt a tiny pang of sympathy. If Voldemort won this war, he would have everything except the one thing he really wanted. People could be forced to respect him, but no one could ever be made to love him. She didn't think he'd really done anything to deserve love after such a twisted and evil life, but it was still sad.

Still completely paralyzed and body full of pain, Bianca flicked her attention to what was happening around her. She could hear screaming and someone shouting Neville's name, but that was all interrupted by a strange shout from something which didn't sound human and the roar of multiple giants from Voldemort's army. And then everyone was in uproar. Chaos encased Hogwarts as footsteps ran in all directions. Bianca could hear Hagrid desperately shouting Harry's name which confused her greatly until she felt some cloth being draped over her and someone putting their fingers to her neck, checking for a pulse.

"Bea?" Harry's voice came so quietly she was sure she imagined it- Harry was dead, after all.

"Bianca, can you hear me?" There was no mistaking that voice. Maybe this was her finally dying and Harry was welcoming her to the afterlife.

Mustering every bit of energy she had, Bianca mumbled, "Harry? How-"

"Shh," he said, "It's ok. He stuttered, Bea, and I just hoped that you'd survived."

Bianca forced her eyes open and was met with Harry's pale face looking at her worriedly. They were shrouded in the Invisibility cloak and she could vaguely see the outlines of people around them.

"You aren't- we aren't dead," she said.

"No," Harry smiled slightly, "I'll explain later, it's a long story. Look, I need you to help me. You have to help me kill him, you're the only one who can."

"Harry," she flinched as a green spell whizzed past them, "I can't."

But Harry was already pulling her to her feet and carrying her into the castle. It shocked her to see how much strength and mobility he had in comparison to her limp body but made herself useful by firing protective shield spells at would-be victims of the Death Eaters as they passed using Harry's wand. He was heading straight into the Great Hall where Voldemort was fighting everyone he came across while shouting orders at his followers. Bianca had to stop herself from grinning when her eyes fell upon Charlie who was duelling alongside Professor Slughorn before remembering what she had previously been doing and returning to shieling the younger students. She did, however, whoop loudly when George and Lee slammed Yaxely to the floor successfully, causing Harry to look at her curiously.

Harry stopped in horror as Mrs Weasley battled Bellatrix Lestrange in a lethal duel for far too long. What had been a raging war had become two tiny battles in the very centre of the castle. Voldemort against McGonagall, Kingsley and Sirius and Bellatrix against Mrs Weasley. Hundreds of others were frozen in lines, watching the fights in awe. Harry carefully lowered Bianca to the floor and took his wand off her. She was transfixed by the sight of her mother battling someone so ruthlessly but strangely, she felt no fear. She knew that there was no way Bellatrix was going to win this fight. And all she could do was grin proudly when Bellatrix Lestrange fell to the floor completely dead. In Voldemort's fury, McGonagall, Kinglsey and Sirius were all thrown backwards, and he turned to Mrs Weasley, fully intending to kill her.

"Protego!" Harry yelled and Bianca yanked the cloak off them, revealing their presence to the hall. There were gasps of surprise and every pair of eyes in the room turned to Harry, but he only had eyes for Voldemort. No one seemed to notice that Bea was there too, too focused on the forthcoming duel between the life-long enemies. The pair circled each other, taunting and jeering. For a while, Bianca watched the exchange, heart racing in fear. And then she ran for the room unnoticed.

That was what she had to do to help Harry. As he stood before her, talking to Voldemort about love's protective properties and how he'd survived, Bianca knew she had to go. All her life, she'd been desperate to know who her real, blood family were, and she'd vowed to herself to love them. She was so sure that somewhere out there, she'd have parents who had loved her like Mr and Mrs Weasley loved her, whether they were dead or alive. And now she knew her real parents' story, it was difficult to admit how hard it was to watch Harry kill her father. She knew he was evil and had to die but that was exactly why she had to leave, because she couldn't face watching her father die. Besides, it made her feel better to think that he died thinking she too was dead.

It was hard to explain and confusing to understand but at the same time it made perfect sense. By no means did Bianca want Voldemort to live past this day- he had to die. Bianca knew that and fully understood. But that man was part of her history. A history she didn't know she really had and now would never be able to know about. That didn't matter to her now. She had her family and she'd made her own story with the Weasleys. That was what was most important.

When the castle exploded in cheers, Bianca smiled softly and turned to head back and join everyone else. Harry was surrounded by hundreds of people all hugging him and congratulating or thanking him profusely. Bianca half expected Fred and George to lift the poor boy up onto their shoulders until she remembered that Fred probably wouldn't be lifting anything anywhere for a very long time. Her sombre mood worsened when Voldemort's body was carried away and placed with the rest of the deceased. She spotted a mass of red hair in amongst the crowds and considered letting her family celebrate for a while without her until she spotted Sirius and Fleur with them and immediately made her way over. Bill spotted her first and removed his arm from Fleur's waist to pick up Bianca and spin her around like he did when she was little. He looked at her in shock.

"We saw you die," he said, putting his hands on her cheeks and looking her directly in the eyes, "How are you here-"

Before Bianca could reply, she was snatched from Bill's grip and taken instead into Charlie's. "I don't see you for months," he said, "And then when I do, it's to watch your public execution. I don't think that's very fair."

"Sorry," Bianca grinned, "I'll warn you next time I'm going to sacrifice myself."

"You will never be 'sacrificing yourself' ever again!" Mrs Weasley snapped before breaking down into sobs and wrapping Bea in the biggest bear hug she'd ever received.

Once she'd been greeted by Mr Weasley, Ginny, Sirius and Fleur, Bianca looked around, brow creased, "Where's George?"

Bill frowned slightly, "He doesn't know you're alive," he said, "I think he went to find your body."

Bianca nodded gravely and turned away, walking quickly out into the courtyard. George was kneeling on the gravel, hunched over next to the spot where Bianca had 'been killed'. His shoulders shook slightly as he stared down sadly.

Bianca knelt down next to him and said his name quietly. George looked up at her and nearly collapsed in relief.

"I don't even care how you did it," he sighed, pulling her into his chest so that they both toppled to one side and were lying on the ground in each other's arms smiling.

After a minute, they sat up properly, still grinning before George frowned slightly, "I've never felt so many different emotions in one day."

"It has been pretty crazy," Bianca agreed, "Hey, why aren't you with Fred?"

George looked away solemnly, "They're moving people who need more medical attention to St Mungo's," he explained, "Apparently it's some major operation because they're not letting anyone anywhere near it. I reckon it's only a matter of time before mum starts demanding to know what's going on, though."

"She can be pretty scary when she's angry," Bianca laughed, remembering her mother's duel with Bellatrix.

George smiled half-heartedly, "They kept saying that we shouldn't worry and that he's in safe hands, but I'm not really sure safe hands are going to be enough."

"The St. Mungo's staff are brilliant," Bianca reassured him, "Try not to worry."

"I won't worry if I'm there with him," George sighed, "It's this that I hate. That I'm not there, that I don't know what's going on. I don't like the idea of him being alone."

Bianca squeezed his hand, "We'll go and see him as soon as we're all finished here."

Unfortunately, it took longer than anticipated for the Weasleys to be ready to leave Hogwarts. Obviously, nobody was up to starting any repairs to the castle, but families of students had to be contacted and aurors were called to deal with the remaining Death Eaters. Endless streams of people wanted to talk to them and conversations with each of those people seemed to last eternally. In fact, it took so long for the family to finally make their way off the grounds, the sun was setting in the sky around them. It had taken Mr Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Sirius' combined effort to finally convince Madame Pomfrey that they were not in need of any medical attention and would ensure that no one was injured once they'd all got home and had some rest. Sirius had stood like a soldier next to Harry with his hand on his shoulder protectively as soon as the pair had been reunited and flanked him everywhere. Everyone was planning to stay overnight at the Burrow with Charlie and Percy sharing one room so Bill and Fleur could have another and Sirius would be sleeping downstairs on the sofa. Somehow they managed to convince George to come with them for some food and some sleep before he stormed St. Mungo's in search of Fred. Mrs Weasley was an emotional, exhausted wreck and had to side apparate home with Mr Weasley because the rest of the family feared she might splinch herself if she went alone. Bianca took a similar approach with George but mainly to stop him 'accidently' ending up at the hospital to visit Fred.

So while the rest of the wizarding world was celebrating, the Weasleys were crammed in their living room in silence, simply enjoying each other's company, happy to be alive. Harry had his arm around Ginny and she was resting her head on his chest peacefully. Mrs Weasley was shakily holding onto a mug of tea and would take a sip every few minutes while staring off into the distance as if in a trance. Hermione and Ron were sitting very close together, holding hands with small smiles fixed on their lips. Bill, Charlie and Percy started a quiet conversation as if nothing had ever happened while Mr Weasley and Sirius worked on getting everyone some food in the kitchen. George kept trying to crack a joke and keep the mood light but he wasn't quite managing to pull them off in the same way as usual. Bianca, meanwhile, had gone around everyone and checked them for any injuries so she could heal anyone who needed it.

After a quick snack of sandwiches and fruit, the family gradually started peel off and head to bed. Mrs Weasley hugged everyone with much enthusiasm and several floods of tears before she bid everyone goodnight and headed upstairs with Mr Weasley. When Harry accidentally dropped his plate because he was too exhausted to be able to hold it properly and it smashed all over the floor, Ginny gently pulled him to his feet and guided him around the broken crockery before passing him onto Ron who took Harry up to his room. Ginny then quickly vanished the remnants of Harry's plate and followed the boys with Hermione. Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Percy excused themselves not long after, leaving Bianca and Sirius in the living room with George who had taken to staring out of the window longingly.

"Georgie," Bianca said, "We'll go to the hospital first thing tomorrow morning and see him."

George nodded numbly and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Bianca asked, brow creased slightly.

"Bed," George said simply as he walked away, "The sooner I go to sleep, the less time I have to wait to see Fred."

Bea sighed and shook her head, standing up to follow George. She smiled quickly at Sirius, waved him goodnight and then jogged up the stairs after stopping off in the kitchen to grab a dreamless sleeping potion- she had a feeling it might need to be used at some point in the night.

It was very easy for everyone to get to sleep that night. For the first time in years, every single one of them knew that they were safe and how lucky they were.

Unfortunately, while it had been easy for everyone to get to sleep in the evening, remaining asleep proved to be quite a challenge for the Weasleys. It turned out that Bianca had been right to collect the dreamless sleeping potion before going to bed because not long after George had fallen asleep, he woke up suddenly with a small shout and began sobbing loudly. Bianca rushed to his side and placed her arms around his shaking form.

"The wall," George wept quietly, "I wasn't there and he- he-"

It didn't occur to Bianca at the time how George knew how Fred had been injured but she said, "It's ok, there's nothing you could have done."

George continued as if he hadn't heard her, "I should have stayed with him like I promised. Now he's gone and I never-"

Bianca suddenly realised what had made George so upset. He had had a dream in which Fred didn't survive the explosion and when he woke up to see Fred's bed empty, it had confirmed his fears. George was sobbing over his twin who he assumed to be dead and was blaming himself.

"Fred's not dead, George," she comforted, "He's just-"

"Where else would he be?" George retaliated, "I left him to fight alone and now he's left me for good! They must have taken his body for burial."

Deciding it probably wasn't best to tell George that Fred was alive but in some unknown critical state at the hospital where he might not survive, Bianca instead quickly poured the potion into a glass of water on George's bedside table and handed it to him.

"Fred's alright, George, I promise," she said gently, "Here, have some water, you'll hurt your throat otherwise."

George shook his head stubbornly, "If he was alright, he'd be here. And he isn't here."

"He just went to the toilet," Bianca lied quickly, "You just had a nightmare, he'll be back in a minute."

George looked at her suspiciously, so she continued, "Look, I'll wait up with you for him to come back, he just went to the bathroom. Drink some water and calm down a bit."

She shuffled slightly so George could take the glass and then tucked herself into his bed so she could stay by his side all night. He downed the water quickly and handed Bianca the glass again. It didn't take long for his eyes to start drooping and for his body to go limp. Just before he fell into a very deep sleep, he turned to look at Bianca drowsily and mumbled, "Fred didn't go to the bathroom."

Not even half an hour after George's panic, Mrs Weasley jolted awake and had to go through everyone's rooms to make sure that all her children were safe. When there was one person missing from the twins' bedroom, she fell against the door frame, her worst fears seemingly confirmed. Everyone else, who had been stirred by their doors opening and then slamming shut in their mother's frenzy had gathered in the corridor in a sleepy state of confusion. Mr Weasley, who had been following his wife around the house trying to calm her and apologise to his children as well as Sirius who had sprinted up the stairs fearing something awful had happened, escorted Molly back to her room.

Not long after that, Harry got out of bed and tried to head downstairs for a drink but tripped after being spooked by Ron shifting in his sleep and tumbled all the way from the top floor to the living room, sustaining a substantial amount of bruises. Once again, everyone except George and Mrs Weasley were pulled out of their rooms, worried by the crashing noises and gathered downstairs where Sirius was sitting Harry down on the nearest armchair. Bianca had quickly healed his broken bones and scrapes and told him it was probably best to stay downstairs for the rest of the night.

The family once again returned to bed, hoping that this time, they'd stay there until morning.


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

The next morning, after a very disturbed night littered with nightmares and dramas, it was Bianca who woke up first and quietly headed to the kitchen. She was determined now that the war was over to start paying the Weasleys back for everything they'd done for her so, after quickly checking on Harry, she got out thirteen mugs and thirteen plates to make a start on breakfast. She knew from past experiences that she was no expert at cooking so decided that she would not do any multitasking. She did everything one at a time and used many spells to keep things warm. First she made everyone their preferred hot drink and charmed them so that they'd fly to the correct person's room and then they'd have a nice warm mug of tea or coffee waiting for them whenever they woke up. After that, she started cooking, carefully making eggs, sausages, toast and bacon one by one and putting them all on the table like a little buffet. She was quite proud of how well she managed to make everything considering she hadn't been trusted to cook anything properly since the bacon incident a few years ago. There was enough food for everyone to take however much they wanted of everything and with any luck it would stay warm all morning.

Mr Weasley and Percy appeared first, dressed for work.

"There are lots of things that need sorting out," Percy told her while he munched on some toast, "The sooner everything gets back to usual, the better."

"Don't stay too late," Bianca called as the pair left.

Most of the morning just felt like a lazy day in the holidays when people would get up slowly whenever they felt like it and roam around the house in pyjamas rather than get dressed and do something productive. Bill and Fleur appeared around mid day and said that they were going to visit Fleur's family to tell them what had happened. Charlie vanished to the paddock to do some solitary Quidditch practice for a few hours and clear his head. Sirius had left early to visit Remus and Tonks in the hospital and said he'd meet Bianca and George there after they'd been to see Fred. There was also an ever-growing pile of letters on the kitchen table being delivered throughout the day, mostly for Harry but also for Ron, Hermione and Bianca. The Daily Prophet contained nothing but stories of the Battle of Hogwarts with tributes to those who had died and reports on the fate of the Death Eaters.

Bianca couldn't help but notice that the clock had righted itself with Percy and Mr Weasley's spoons pointing at 'work', Bill's on 'travelling', and Mrs Weasley, Charlie, George, Ron and Ginny's on 'home'. Bianca decided not to consider that Fred's spoon was not fixed on 'hospital' but instead was indicating that he was in 'mortal peril'.

When Ginny trudged down to the kitchen in the early afternoon with a very impressive bed-head, she look around for a bit before asking, "Where's mum?"

Bianca looked up from the book she was reading at the table, "She hasn't come down yet. I think dad might have tied her to the bed to stop her from over-working."

Ginny smirked, "I wouldn't be surprised. She's a bit of a mess at the moment." She grabbed a bacon sandwich and bit into it as if she hadn't eaten in years, "Is no one else up?"

Bianca quickly explained the whereabouts of the rest of the family while Ginny helped herself to seconds of breakfast.

"I think Harry, Hermione and Ron might be sleeping until next week," Ginny said, mouth full of egg.

"Not if there as many issues tonight as there were last night," Bianca smiled, "I don't think anyone could sleep through that."

"There won't be," Ginny said, "Honestly, when Harry fell down the stairs, I thought someone was blowing up the house. Or there was a loose erumpet in the kitchen."

The girls laughed and then fell into a comfortable silence while Ginny finished eating. While she was washing up her plate, she said, "Well done on not desecrating the bacon this time."

"You noticed!" Bianca cheered.

"Of course," Ginny smirked, "I think someone should contact the Prophet. It'd make a great story and it's not like there's anything more interesting going on at the moment," she said sarcastically.

Bianca nodded, "Yeah, 'Girl Successfully Cooks Bacon' is certainly more interesting than 'Evillest Wizard of All time Defeated in Battle at School'. I know which one I'd prefer to read."

Ginny chucked, "I think I'm going to go and join Charlie for a bit. It'll be nice to do something normal."

"I'll have to go and wake up George," Bianca stood up, "I think the dose of sleeping potion I gave him was a little too strong last night."

"You gave him a sleeping potion?" Ginny turned in the doorway.

"I had to," Bianca sighed, "He woke up after a nightmare convinced that Fred was dead and it was his fault. There was no way he was going back to sleep of his own accord without seeing Fred first."

"It must be horrible for him," Ginny said, "I mean, it's hard enough for everyone else but-"

"They literally spend every minute of the day together and now Fred's not here," Bianca said, "Yeah. I'm taking George to the hospital once he's had something to eat."

"Tell me before you leave so I can come back in," Ginny requested, "I don't want the others waking up not knowing where anyone is."

Bianca nodded and began her ascent to the twins' room only to crash into George half way up and find herself being dragged back down towards the front door.

"Woah," she exclaimed, "Slow down, George. Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" George said, "To see Fred, obviously. Come on, put your shoes on."

Bianca studied George. He was fully dressed, if you could call wearing your shirt back to front, your trousers inside out and your shoes on the wrong feet, fully dressed. Somehow, he'd managed to do his trousers up despite the zip and button being against his skin, but his belt was hanging undone around his waist, clunking against his thighs as he rushed around.

"George, we aren't going anywhere when you look like that."

"That's rude, this is my favourite top."

"And it's lovely," Bianca said, trying to contain her laughter, "when you wear it the right way around."

George looked down, suddenly noticing how badly he'd managed to put his clothes on.

"Now, you go and get dressed," George opened his mouth to protest jokingly that he technically was dressed, so Bianca added quickly, "properly, and I'll go and make you some breakfast." She looked at her watch, "Erm, or whatever you would call a meal at two thirty in the afternoon."

"It's two thirty in the afternoon?" George demanded, "Why did you let me sleep so long?"

"Because I know that once you go into that hospital, you won't be leaving again unless it's with Fred, so you needed as much rest before you left as possible."

George glared at her.

"You know I'm right," Bianca said, "Go put some clothes on."

He stuck his tongue out at her like the mature man he was and reluctantly went back to his room to change.

Half an hour later, the pair were actually ready to leave. George had all his clothes on properly although he was joking that his 'underwear might still be inside out'. Bianca had called out to Ginny to say that they were leaving and she apparated with George to the foyer of St Mungo's.

The woman on the front desk told them the ward Fred was on.

"Thank you," Bianca called as George started pulling her away urgently.

The woman looked after them, "You should know that visitors aren't-" she tried to call but the pair were already gone.

George and Bianca ran all the way through the hospital up to the fourth floor. Bianca didn't fully understand why being crushed by a wall warranted Fred being put on the 'spell damage' floor but she wasn't going to question it. Bianca smiled as they entered a corridor she knew very well after working there for over a year.

George stormed up to the desk, "I have to see Fred Weasley."

The healer, who Bianca vaguely recognised but couldn't remember the name of looked at him blankly, "I'm sorry, we can't allow visitors at the moment."

"What?" George looked horrified, "But I have to see him! I'm his brother!"

"Mr Weasley is in a critical condition," the healer said, "We have a team working with him all the time. Visitors would just get in the way."

"But it's been over a day!" George said, "Surely by now- it was just a wall- he-"

"Your brother wasn't just hurt by the crumbling wall," the healer looked at George, shocked that he didn't seem to know this already, "He was also hit by an unknown dark curse. Otherwise he would probably be at home with you right now. I'm sorry but I can't let you see him."

George opened and closed his mouth like a dying fish.

Bianca stepped up to the desk, "Is there really nothing you can do? We haven't heard anything since he was taken into the hospital. George just wants to see his brother."

"I can give you updates on his condition but there's nothing else I can do. I'm sorry."

"You're not trying to break into patients' rooms again, are you Bianca?" a voice she hadn't heard in a very long time came from down the hall, "That's becoming a bad habit."

"Kyle," Bianca smiled and turned to her friend, opening her arms out for a hug.

"I've been so worried about you," Kyle said, "They told me what happened here but then I haven't heard anything since. You haven't been in the papers at all and I scoured every article this morning trying to find something. You're not mentioned once!"

"No one quite seems to know what to think of me at the moment," Bianca said, "They don't know if I'm good or bad. How's Ollie?"

"He's fine now. We've been in hiding since Christmas but in a way I'm glad- it meant he wasn't at the castle during the battle."

"I'm glad he's ok," Bianca smiled kindly, "I don't suppose you-"

"If you're going to ask me about Fred, there's really not much I can do. There's a whole team of healers in there trying to figure out what happened, it's not like I can sneak you in unnoticed."

"Please," George begged, "We won't get in the way, I just want to be with him. Bianca might be able to help- she's the one who saved him at the battle."

"Kyle, I know it's not really allowed, but please just let George in. They always seem better when they're together and I could tell the healers what I did to help him."

"You could just as easily tell me what happened- you don't have to be in the room."

"I am technically a healer."

"You got suspended."

"Ok, I'm suspended but my Level 2 healer qualification isn't."

Kyle sighed and rubbed his forehead. He pulled Bianca to one side, "Listen," he said quietly, "There's not really anything to stop you from going in and helping, but I really don't think George would want to see Fred like this. It wouldn't be easy for him and if he broke down and got in the way-"

"George already knows what Fred looks like," Bianca said impatiently, "And I'd be there anyway."

Kyle was silent for a while until finally he looked up at Bianca's pleading eyes and George's deflated expression and caved, "Fine," he said, "I'll let you in. But you have to do exactly what I tell you to and don't get in the way."

George's face lit up and he nodded obediently.

"Thank you," Bianca said, "That means a lot."

The healer behind the desk gawped at them as Kyle opened the door he'd previously come out of and led George and Bianca in. Bea immediately recognised Alma to be one of the three healers surrounding the bed by the glare she gave Kyle as he ushered George to a plastic seat in the corner of the room. George was craning his neck to get a look at his twin and Bianca quickly moved slightly to peek in between the two healers with their backs to her. Fred's face had no colour whatsoever as if he'd been painted white. He was so skinny that it looked like he hadn't eaten in months. There was no muscle anywhere on his body and his hair was flat against his forehead, held there by a thin layer of sweat. He was covered in bandages from where the wall had broken bones or grazed his skin. Bianca looked to George, expecting him to be shocked or tearful but instead, he forced a smile, "Now I know I'm definitely the better looking one."

At George's words, Fred's head twitched slightly towards his brother and Bianca was sure some of the colour returned to him face. Kyle raised his eyebrow slightly and looked at George in surprise. Bianca watched the healers work for a while before grabbing her wand and quickly transfiguring her robes into work scrubs and stepping up next to Alma. Ignoring the protests, she began working herself, completely contradicting the method she'd observed her colleagues using previously and instead repeating what she'd done at the battle. She used a combination of healing charms and protective spells, sure that whatever curse Fred had been hit with was eating away at him internally, stripping him of any energy, strength or magic. The protective charms were to try and prevent the effects of the curse while they worked on healing his other injuries which were getting no better due to the circumstances. The rest of the team quickly caught onto what she was doing and helped her, giving Bianca the chance to study Fred properly. She carried out a few diagnostic spells which showed her he had some internal bleeding, severe damage to his lungs, and broken bones all over his body including damage to the spinal cord and skull. Thankfully, as far as she could tell, there was no brain damage, but of course, they'd have to check that out properly when he was awake. Happy that they were doing everything they could for his physical injuries, Bianca turned her attention to Fred's face. His chapped lips were slightly apart in a slight purse, but his teeth were clenched together tightly. His brow was raised as though, if they were open, his eyes would be wide, and his forehead was lined with creases. It was an expression Bianca wasn't used to seeing on the twins, but she could identify easily.

"He's scared," she said quietly, watching his chest rise and fall shallowly yet absurdly quickly, "George, come here. Move closer."

"Bianca," Alma said, a clear warning.

"No, George, come here," she repeated, "Take his hand or stroke his hair or something. He has to be calm."

Everyone in the room looked at her blankly as if she were insane.

"If he's scared, there'll be more adrenaline in his system and then his heart rate will be too fast, and it'll be pumping blood to his wounds faster. He'll just die faster; he's already lost too much blood. Trust me. George, come here."

Shakily, George got to his feet and walked to Fred's side. He bent over slightly so that he could take his twin's limp, cold hand and whisper reassuringly in his ear. "It's ok, Fred. There's nothing to be afraid of," he said, "I'm here with you. You're going to be alright."

Tension flowed out of Fred as quicker than blood from a wound. His breathing steadied and finally, the work that the healers were doing seemed to be making a difference. Alma looked at Bianca full of appraisal. It took hours of endless work and there were even a couple of shift changes but Bianca, George and even Kyle remained in the room. George's legs were locked in their slightly bent position while he talked to Fred, making little jokes but every so often reminding that he didn't need to be scared. Bianca continued her charm work, allowing Kyle to administer potions when necessary to help with Fred's internal damage or explain to healers what they were doing when others went for a break.

Just before midnight, the healers stopped. All external injuries had been treated and there were now no signs of anything on Fred's skin aside from a couple of bruises. All his broken bones had been healed and were set to heal perfectly. They'd stopped the internal bleeding and fixed the issues with his lungs. In fact, the only complication was Fred's spinal cord which was severely damaged after taking a lot of the impact of the falling wall. Such delicate parts of the body took time to heal, even with magic because anything that went wrong could be fatal or life-changing. It had to heal properly and thoroughly, but Fred, in his comatose state, didn't know this, so whenever he would twitch or move in his sleep, someone immediately had to check nothing had been affected.

Apart from that, however, Fred Weasley was ok. He'd been through the most intense, two-day surgery ever performed in the hospital, but he was ok. Bianca, George and Kyle were left in the room together, slumped against the wall, completely exhausted. George had moved his little chair so it was so close to Fred's bed, it might as well have been on it, and was carefully feeding his brother some soup.

"Hey George," Bianca said, "Do you still have that bubble wrap? I think it's Fred's turn."

"Oh, it is most definitely Fred's turn," George said seriously," He's going to need protection from the beating everyone's going to give him at home for scaring them."

"I'm not going to question what you just said," Kyle said, "But I need to go before Ollie starts worrying. I was meant to be back several hours ago."

"Thank you so much for helping," Bianca said, "You didn't have to."

"I think it's about time I payed you back for everything you did for us at Christmas," Kyle smiled, "I'll see you soon." He opened the door, "Oh, and you might want to speak to Daisy at some point. She has something she needs to explain."

Bianca scowled. She hadn't forgotten that Daisy was the reason the staff had been attacked all those months ago at work but had been struggling to comprehend it ever since. She knew Daisy wasn't a Death Eater- not only was she certainly not the type, but in the weeks Bianca had spent in the Death Eater's ranks, not once had she seen her friend there. Perhaps she'd been trying to protect someone or she'd been threatened. Surely she would never do something so horrible willingly.

Bianca conjured up another chair next to George and collapsed into it. Glancing up at the clock, she realised just how late it had got- it was nearly nine hours since they'd arrived at the hospital.

"We should head home," Bianca said, "They'll be starting to worry."

George shook his head, "Remember when you said I wouldn't be leaving unless it was with Fred?"

"Well at least send and owl or a patronus so they know where we are," Bianca said.

George nodded, but before he could actually do either of those things, the door opened and Sirius poked his head in. He held up several bags of food and grinned, "When visiting hours were over and I couldn't find you anywhere, I assumed you'd still be here and thought you might like some food."

"Sirius," Bianca said, "Visiting ended four hours ago. Please tell me you didn't wait for us all that time."

"I might have stayed with Remus a little longer than was strictly allowed," Sirius smirked slightly, "But it was his fault, he was demanding to know how Tonks was in extreme detail."

"How are they?" George asked, placing the empty bowl of soup on a nearby table and looking at the bags of food eagerly.

"Much better," Sirius replied, "They asked after everyone, of course. Remus was a tad disappointed when I told him you didn't kill Voldy with a chocolate frog and a pillow," he teased, looking at Bianca who sighed.

"Really? How long has it been?"

"Oh, about four years, now, I think."

"And it's still not old?"

"Never. Now, who's up for a midnight snack?"


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Sirius didn't stay much longer at the hospital, saying that he was heading back to the Burrow to give everyone an update. Bianca and George, however, both stayed all night with Fred. Whenever the healers would ask them to leave, Bianca would remind them of her healer's qualification and say she was just providing twenty-four-hour care and George would say that he was there to make sure that Fred stayed calm. Bianca couldn't help but notice that whenever George left the room briefly to get some water or go to the toilet, Fred would stir slightly and become unsettled, shifting and moving uncomfortably, face contorted in pain. He would only relax again when George returned and was once again by his side.

Overnight, George slept awkwardly in the tiny plastic chair, insisting that Bianca should take the infinitely more comfortable armchair. They were both too tired to consider simply transfiguring another armchair or perhaps even a blanket. Charlie and Bill visited the next morning, desperate for news above what Sirius had provided. Bianca filled them in on everything that had happened and in return, they told her how everyone was at home.

"Mum's going insane with worry," Bill said, "Came round checking everyone's rooms again last night and screamed so loudly when yours was empty that I'm pretty sure it woke the while village over the hill up. We had to convince her that you were all just staying at your flat for the night. Thank Merlin she was in no state to remember it's in ruins."

"It was the first time anyone had seen her since the night before though," Charlie said, "She just stays in her room all day worrying but then whenever someone goes to bring her food, she goes on about how desperate she is to come and see Fred. It's like she can't bring herself to leave."

Bianca frowned. It was so unlike their mother- usually when she was worried, she'd be rushing around trying to do everything for everyone.

"We've been doing everything," Bill continued, "Fleur's staying with her family for a while and the most Harry, Ron or Hermione has been able to do without taking a nap is have shower."

"Percy and dad got home from work only just before Sirius arrived and left again before anyone else was up this morning. Really it's been up to us and Ginny to sort everyone out."

"Hopefully it won't be too long before we're back to help," Bianca said, "And I'm sure once everyone's caught up on sleep, they'll be fine too."

"In all fairness," Charlie said, "It's not as bad I thought it'd be. I mean, considering what everyone's been through, I thought we'd all be really messed up, but, apart from mum, we all seem fine."

"I think we're all staying strong for the sake of each other," Bill said thoughtfully, "If we were all running around madly all the time, it wouldn't work out so well."

Conversation stopped while a healer came in to deliver everyone a hot drink and give Fred a few potions. Once she'd left, Bill studied Bianca over his mug, "You were in the paper this morning," he said.

"Oh? What I done this time?"

"The ministry seem to be struggling to know whether to arrest you or not," Charlie said, "They've decided you're a Death Eater and that you didn't do enough in the battle to prove your loyalty to Harry."

Bianca raised her eyebrow, "I see. And the ministry has been oh so loyal to Harry recently, has it? I must have misread those articles about him."

"Yeah well, they're convinced you were secretly sided with Voldemort and were trying to help him from the inside. Reports and statements have surfaced from all sorts of places saying you caused an attack here and were staying in the Death Eater's ranks for weeks before the final battle."

Bianca looked down guiltily, "Technically they're both true," she said.

"No," George said immediately, "They're twisted versions of half the truth."

"Well, you know what happens when the ministry gets hold of something," Charlie said, "Dad, Perce and Kingsley are doing everything they can to hold them back but-" he trailed off.

"They want to look like they've actually been doing something to help. They want to make up for all those years they spent openly hating Harry now that the rest of the world loves him. They did nothing towards the war and ended up just making it ten times more difficult for us to win but now suddenly, they look like they're being useful by arresting all these Death Eaters."

"And really how hard was that when they were all knocked out at Hogwarts anyway?" George added.

"People just want something reliable to turn to in amongst all this mess and the ministry is trying to step up as that thing," Bianca continued, "Seeing as Harry managed to deal with most things pretty well and is now a famous hero, the only thing they can think to do is come back to me."

"There's nothing to worry about, though," Charlie said, "I mean, there's no evidence or reasonable grounds to arrest you."

"Technically," Bianca said sadly, "Any one of those Death Eaters that they've got locked up could truthfully say that I agreed to join them and stayed in their ranks for several weeks."

"Only to save me and Fred!" George protested.

"Yes but still I've helped the opposite side," Bianca said, "And I did put all of the patients here at risk when they attacked."

"You weren't to know!" George argued again.

"But it still happened! And really, who saw me actually fight in the battle to help Harry?"

"You were there in the room of requirement," George said, "Ron said they wouldn't have got the diadem without you."

"But doesn't that sound suspiciously like someone just trying to protect their friend? And after that what did I do? Watch Fred get blown up and then sacrifice myself?"

"You were prepared to die so that everyone else could live a better life," Bill said, "And you say that as if it means nothing?"

"I'm just saying that with the record the ministry has for twisting stories, they'd have perfect reason to arrest me."

"We won't let that happen," Charlie promised, "I mean, Harry can vouch for you and everyone is worshipping him at the moment. The ministry wouldn't dream of going against him again."

Bianca nodded and excused herself to go to the toilet. On her way back, she passed the store room for the ward and, more importantly, someone inside it.

"Daisy," she called out, "Have you got a minute?"

Her old friend and colleague turned so quickly that she nearly walked straight into the doorframe. Bianca braced herself for the bone crushing hug she was sure was about to come as Daisy ran towards her.

"I'm so glad you're alright?" the healer screeched, "I've been so worried and oh, Merlin," she looked away guiltily, "I am so, so sorry. They put me under the Imperius curse, I didn't know what I was doing until I had my next shift. They nearly fired me but Kyle, bless his heart, he noticed something was off. He said I was out of character and they did some investigating. Oh, Bea, there were aurors and everything, it was so scary. Eventually though, they managed to prove it wasn't really my fault, but I just couldn't stand the idea that you thought I'd tried to kill you. And then when there was all this news in the papers about a battle and I knew that obviously you'd have been there, but you just weren't mentioned." She raised her eyes to Bianca, "Can you forgive me?"

Bianca pretended to consider this then said seriously, "Only if you pay me back for that hour of work you missed."

Daisy gasped with elation and burst into tears, very much reminding Bianca of Mrs Weasley.

"Now," Bianca said, "I think you have a job to be doing."

Daisy nodded and sniffled before giving Bianca one last squeeze and turning back to the store room.

When Bianca re-entered, Fred's room, the boys turned to look at her.

"Even for a girl, that was a long time," Charlie teased.

Bianca stuck her tongue out a him, "I had something that needed sorting."

She retook her seat with her brothers and they spent most of the day chatting.

At some point in the early afternoon, Bill and Charlie stood up.

"We'd better head back to the madhouse," Charlie joked, "Make sure they're all still alive."

"Tell them we send our love," Bianca said as they left.

A few days later, George was carefully studying his twin who, much to his dismay, remained as lifeless as ever in the hospital bed. "Bea," George said, "Why hasn't he woken up yet? You said he's nearly healed."

"He's not nearly healed, George," Bianca said gently, "You know when you have a cold, and mum could give you some Pepper-Up potion, but sometimes it would take a few days to finally stop sniffing or coughing all together? Well it's just like that. The body needs time to repair."

"So this is Fred getting rid of his last few sniffles?" George smirked, "What a drama queen."

Bianca laughed, "I think the trauma he's suffered is a little more extensive than a common cold, but sure."

"But when he wakes up, he'll be alright?"

"I don't know, George. It's hard to tell. We still don't know what curse he was hit with and there's been serious damage to his spinal cord which might still cause a problem." George looked disheartened. "I'm sorry," Bea said, "But I don't want to tell you things which aren't true."

George nodded solemnly and looked back to Fred, "He's sweating," he pointed out, indicating to the damp covers and beads of perspiration.

Bianca stepped forward, "He's running a fever," she said, noticing the tension in Fred's body as he shivered, "Don't worry about it, it's easily fixed."

She quickly dashed out to the store cupboard and grabbed a potion but when she turned around, she was face to face with Alma who had a very stern look on her face.

"You know, technically," she said, one eyebrow raised disapprovingly, "You don't work here. You shouldn't be in this room."

"Fred's got a fever," Bianca explained, "I didn't want to bother someone when I knew how to deal with it."

"You should have called for someone," Alma frowned, "It's not your responsibility anymore."

"You said my job would still be here for when I wanted it," Bianca said, "I want it."

"Now? Bianca, it's only been a few days since the battle. You should take some time first."

"I've spent most of my time since the battle here working anyway," Bianca argued, "Fred would be dead if I hadn't come in and helped. You didn't stop me then."

"The circumstances were completely different."

"It doesn't matter. I think I've proved that I can return to work now. You know, seeing as I basically already have. Don't worry, by the way, I won't be expecting to be paid for all the extra hours I've put in."

Alma softened and smiled, "I'll sort the paperwork out and let you know when your first shift is. I think I know where I'll find you."

"Thank you," Bianca said gratefully, "Permission to deliver this potion?"

"Granted," Alma smirked, "Oh, Bianca! Don't forget to-"

"Record it in his file? I know," Bianca looked at her boss with a glint in her eye, "I used to work here, you know?"

"What took so long?" George demanded when she returned.

"I'm sorry, I-" she stopped abruptly when she looked at the bed.

Fred's slight shivering had become full on trembling, his whole body jerking violently. Sweat was now streaming down his face and his mouth was wide open as he gasped for breath desperately.

"George, get help. Quickly!"

Bianca ran over to Fred and tried her best to hold him still, terrified he'd worsen the injury to his back with his thrashing. Multiple other healers rushed in to help and George stood flat against the wall, looking on in horror. He'd never felt so out of his depth. Usually in bad situations, he and Fred would make their way through together, but this time, Fred _was_ the bad situation and George had no idea how to proceed. It didn't take long for the healers to stop whatever fit Fred was having and George nearly fell over when he looked at his brother to see Fred looking straight back.

"Please," George said, "Do not wake up like that every morning."

Fred laughed but ended up coughing and nearly choking. Bianca looked at George contemptuously and carefully held a glass of water to Fred's lips, allowing him to take a few sips.

While the team of healers carried out all sorts of different tests on Fred to make sure everything was fine, George quickly scribbled a note to send home and inform everyone of the development. When he returned, Fred was sleeping peacefully and only Bianca was left in the room.

"Well?" George said.

"Thankfully, he didn't do any more damage to himself during the fit," she said.

"Why did that happen?"

"We don't know. Possibly from shock or potentially as an after effect of the curse. Either way, it's not good. Apart from that glitch though and some restricted movement in his legs, he's fine. He's in a lot of pain which I think he's trying to hide though."

"Naturally," George rolled his eyes. "When can he come home?"

"I'm hoping I'll be able to convince them to release him in the next few days. Usually it would be longer but if I pull the 'I'm a qualified healer and can look after him 24/7' card, we might be able to get away with it. For the sake of everyone."

"I'm not sure how many more nights my back can take on this chair," George said, "It's only been a week and I feel like ninty-year-old already."

"A week is quite a long time to go without a proper bed and only a couple of hours sleep," Bianca pointed out.

Bill and Charlie had been bringing the pair a constant stream of clean clothes and fresh food while they'd been away from the Burrow, each time coming back with more stories of nightmares, panic attacks or breakdowns the family had suffered. The sooner they were back together properly again, the better- for the benefit of everyone. Remus and Tonks had both been released a few days ago and were staying with Tonks' parents. Bianca was excited for a time when everything would be normal again.

"No apparating, don't use the floo unless necessary, no physical exertion, keep walking to a minimum for at least a couple of weeks, make sure you're getting plenty of rest and keeping away from stressful situations. I would recommend not working until you are no longer showing even the tiniest of symptoms, just in case. Make sure you're doing the recommended stretches every day to regain strength in your legs." the list of rules the healer was reeling off to Fred seemed endless. He was sitting on the edge of his hospital bed eagerly, waiting for someone to finally dismiss him. George had dozed off in his chair while Bianca was sorting out bits of paperwork and Fred was getting lectured.

"Should any of your symptoms return or worsen, come back immediately, don't pass it off," the healer continued, "You've lost at lot of weight while you've been in here so make sure you're eating healthily. Don't overuse magic, please ask someone for help or carry out tasks by yourself when you can."

Bianca returned to the room, pushing an empty wheelchair. Fred gave her a pleading look and she giggled quietly before stepping in.

"Clarence," she said, "I can make sure Fred doesn't do anything that might harm him. I'm sure you have other things you need to be doing, I'd hate to waste your time."

"Bea, you know I'm meant to-"

"It'll be our secret," Bianca winked at her colleague, "You can trust me to look after Fred."

Clarence left and Fred looked at Bianca gratefully, "Thank you so much," he said, exhaling in relief, "I was about to strangle him."

Bea kicked George sharply on the shin to stir him and jolted her head towards Fred, "Help me get this useless lump into a wheelchair so we can take him home."

"I'm not useless!" Fred protested, "Just not as useful as I used to be."

"If you say so," George stretched as he stood and easily lifted Fred into the wheelchair. "Woah," he said, "A bowtruckle weighs more than you. Wait until mum gets hold of you. You'll be eating until next year!"

"If mum's managed to find her way out of her bedroom yet," Bianca mumbled gravely, manoeuvring the wheelchair out of the room while George collected their bags.

"How are we getting back?" Fred asked as they made their way through the corridors.

"We'll have to floo," Bianca said, lips pursed, "There's no other way."

"Have fun fitting all this in a fire place," George said sarcastically, indicating to all their possessions which had amounted over two weeks of staying in the hospital. It mostly consisted of George and Bianca's clothes or books which they'd used to entertain themselves and gifts from friends or family wishing Fred a speedy recovery.

Two weeks after they first arrived, the group signed out at the front desk and proceeded to the fireplace next to the door which was there for public use.

"George, take Fred out of the chair and pass me the bags," Bianca instructed.

George frowned at her but did as she asked, helping Fred to stand up and supporting all of his weight while Bea produced her wand and magically shrunk all of their possessions so that she could fit them in her jacket pocket. George and Bianca carefully guided Fred into the fireplace which was quite clearly not built to transport three people, and squished together so that they'd fit in.

"Cosy," Fred murmured, his head compressed into George shoulder, "We should travel like this more often."

A few seconds later, they were no longer crowded in St Mungo's, but instead in the empty living room of the Burrow. Fred slumped against George, overcome with dizziness from the trip.

"I'm guessing this is why you aren't meant to Floo or apparate," George said, smirking slightly as he lowered Fred onto a sofa.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Fred groaned sarcastically, "I feel great."

To prove his point, he leant forward suddenly and vomited all over his twin.

"Gee, thanks," George said, "Two weeks of looking after you all through night and day and this is how you show your appreciation?"

Fred smiled weakly, "Sorry, mate."

Bianca rolled her eyes and quickly vanished the sick with a wave of her wand. She quickly left the room to locate the rest of her family, leaving George to stay with Fred and make sure his nausea passed. Bianca returned a few seconds later with Bill, who's eyes were alight with excitement. He bent down to give Fred a hug. "I'm glad you're alright, mate," he grinned, "We were worried."

"So I've heard," Fred said, "Where's the rest of my welcome home party?"

"Everyone's outside," Bill said, "Sirius bought Teddy over for the day to give Remus and Tonks a rest."

Bianca came over with the wheelchair which she had enlarged so it was its original size and held it steady while George lifted Fred into it. Bea noticed how he winced slightly in pain but decided not to mention it. The last thing he'd want after just getting out of the hospital would be to be fussed over. She followed the twins outside with Bill where they were immediately swarmed by over-excited Weasleys. George and Bianca stood to one side smiling while everyone took it in turns to hug Fred. Bea looked around, realising that three people were missing. Presumably Mr Weasley and Percy were at work still but there was one other person who should have been on Fred in a millisecond if they knew.

"Where's mum?" Fred asked, voicing Bianca's confusion.

The family shared awkward looks. No one had informed him of their troubled nights, thinking that he should focus on getting better rather than worrying about everyone else as they knew he would.

"Well?" Fred prompted, "Where is she? Here was me, mentally prepared to have all my ribs broken again as soon as I got home from one of mum's hugs, but she's no where in sight."

"She's upstairs," Ginny said, "Has been since we got back from Hogwarts two weeks ago."

"Is she ill?"

"Not really," Charlie said. He quickly explained what had been going on and how their mother had been troubled by Fred's absence.

"But I'm here now," Fred said, "So she'll be ok now, right?"

"I should think so," Sirius clapped him on the back, handing a very tiny baby to Harry carefully, "Come on, let's all go and have a drink to celebrate."

"Wait," Fred said, "Why doesn't someone go and tell her? I want to see mum."

"She won't open the door to anyone except dad," Ron said, "We'll have to wait until tonight when she…" he trailed off, not needing to finish his thought.

Fred frowned but allowed George to take him back inside with everyone else. Hermione and Ginny set about making drinks for everyone while Bill, Charlie and Ron searched for some biscuits and Sirius and Harry settled Teddy in a small baby seat which was attached to one chair. The two-month old gurgled happily, drooling down his chin.

"I'm surprised they let him out of their sight for a day," Sirius said to Bianca when he spotted her looking at the baby boy, "Tonks feels so bad about leaving him with Andromeda while they were in hospital but anyone could see that they're still recovering and needed a rest so I offered to take him knowing Harry would be desperate to see him."

"He's gorgeous," Bianca said lovingly.

The family spent many hours together chatting until in the late afternoon when Fred fell asleep and nearly tumbled out of his wheelchair until George caught him and bought him up to bed. They were all anxious to see what would happen that night, and it seemed like they wouldn't have long to wait.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

She flung open the first door. Bill was there sleeping soundly, stirred slightly by the commotion. She closed the door again.

The second door. She peered in. Both Charlie and Percy were tucked into their respective beds, their snoring stopped by the disturbance. She closed their door too, satisfied.

Next, she made her way right up to the top of the house and opened the next door. Ron and Harry, both fine and comfortable until the light from the open door fell on their faces and they peeled their eyes open. Their door closed.

Ginny's room housed both her youngest daughter and Hermione who, unlike the rest of their family had been waiting for the disruption.

At the final door, Mrs Weasley hesitated. She was unaware that the rest of the house hold had gathered around her, waiting to see what would happen; she was focused only on the door knob which so far had betrayed her every night for two weeks. With a trembling hand, she grasped the metal knob and slowly turned it with baited breath. Light from nine lit wands flooded into the room and revealed one, two… three faces all blissfully unaware of what was happened around them. Mrs Weasley raised her hands to her mouth to cover a gasp. For a minute or so, she simply stood there in delighted horror before her shock ebbed away and she shrieked her husband's name, still oblivious to his presence next to her. Jolted awake by the sudden commotion, Fred bolted up in bed, pain etched on his face as he jarred his injured back. His mother had her arms around him in less than a second, wanting never to let him go.

"Oh, my boy! My baby boy," she kept wailing happily. Outside, the rest of the group smiled at the touching scene before they also all gathered around, creating a huge Weasley group hug. Charlie threw a pillow at George- the only one who was still sleeping and called at his brother to join everyone else. Begrudgingly, George dragged himself out of bed and latched himself onto his brothers, mumbling about how his twin 'wasn't that special' and 'wasn't worth him getting out of bed'. With some miraculous balancing and reshuffling, as well as pure trust in each other's company, the family managed to sleep all together in the twins' room, pushing together the three beds and carefully placing themselves on them so that everyone was comfortable and at no risk of falling. The length of one bed was pressed against one wall while the three headboards were against another so that Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill, Charlie and Percy could sit in similar positions with their backs against the wall, comforted with pillows. The rest of their siblings managed to fit in elsewhere with Fred placed carefully in between them so that he wouldn't be injured and was well supported. Apart from that, there was no structure- just an entanglement of limbs and bodies. When they had organised themselves, there had been no intention of remaining there all night, but not ten minutes after they had settled, all twelve of them were fast asleep. And none of them suffered from any nightmares that night.

The next morning, Mr and Mrs Weasley woke first and looked at their children in adoration for a while before carefully slipping away from the mess of bodies and tip-toeing downstairs. Mrs Weasley began searching for her camera, desperate to snap a photo of her sleeping angelic children as they were, as she said, 'too sweet not to'.

"Oh, Arthur, aren't we lucky?" she gushed, "Aren't we so fortunate to have children who all love each other so much and are so kind, brave and caring? I can't help thinking how blessed we are to still have them all with us. After everything that's happened over the years- now it's all over and they risked everything to help and look how it's turned out! Isn't it just brilliant?"

"Yes, my dear," Mr Weasley kissed his wife on the head affectionately, "We are very, very lucky. There are many people who pray for the family we have. I think Percy and I will take the day off today. We'll spend it together."

He handed her the camera which he'd found on a shelf in the living room and went into the kitchen to make tea while his wife went upstairs.

A couple of hours later, Bianca woke up squished between Bill and Charlie, her face buried in Fred's chest while she held his hand and George's arms protectively around both of them. Her legs were pinned in place by Harry who was curled up on the foot of the bed across Bianca's shins one arm reaching up so he could interlock his fingers with Ginny. Ron and Hermione were also strangely close together. Looking from afar, it would have been impossible to tell whose legs were whose as they were all either being concealed by someone else's body or tangled up with multiple other legs. Really, it was just ten heads around the outside of three beds which were pushed together and then many, many limbs tied in the centre. Several blankets were strewn across them carelessly but most had been abandoned for the warmth of another person instead.

Mrs Weasley bought them all warm pastries to eat in bed that morning which resulted in thousands of crumbs ending up all over the sheets and many piles of plates cluttering the floor. None of them wanted to get up and leave the comfort of each other, something they hadn't had for so long. So, very simply, they didn't. Anything they needed was either provided by Mrs Weasley or they summoned with magic. There were a few pillow fights, multiple naps and lots and lots of chatting, laughing and catching up. It was only in the evening, when Mrs Weasley declared that she'd prepared a big family dinner that any of them even thought about moving. Together, they trudged down stairs in their pyjamas, George and Charlie flanking Fred, and then all gathered around the table. Mrs Weasley had prepared the most impressive roast dinner. With two huge full whole chickens, potatoes, Yorkshire puddings and plenty of vegetables. She piled food so high on everyone's plates that they resembled mountains and poured them all a butterbeer. They ate until they could no longer even lift their forks because they were so full.

Across the table, Bianca watched Fred, noticing that although he was joking around and laughing with George, his face was slightly pale and beaded with sweat but despite how many people were crowded into the kitchen, no one else seemed hot. When the meal was finished and everyone was moving into the living room, Bianca prevented George from moving Fred's wheelchair.

"Your fever's coming back," she said, "Do you feel ill? Any pains?"

Fred shook his head and tried his best to smile, "I'm just tired," he said, "Don't worry."

"Fred-"

"I'll be fine," he insisted.

George studied his twin sceptically, "Are you sure? You can tell us; Bea will be able to help."

Fred just grinned, "I'm fine," he promised.

Bianca pursed her lips, "At least take something for your temperature."

To keep his siblings happy, Fred agreed and the whole family headed to bed separately, hoping for another night free of terrors. Unfortunately, while Mrs Weasley no longer felt compelled to check everyone's rooms, she along with Harry, George and Percy all woke up after nightmares and took several hours each to calm down. Charlie told Bianca how guilty Percy felt about Fred's accident and was plagued with dreams in which the explosion was replayed. Bea seemed to be the best at calming her family down. She understood a lot of what Harry had been through, so could always find the right things to say and her ability to stay calm in the situations allowed her to be there for everyone. She understood that everyone needed different things during a panic attack or after a nightmare and quickly learned how best to deal with each of her siblings and friends individually. For the rest of the Weasleys, it was very convenient having someone there ready to help, no matter what the problem and they were grateful. For Bianca however, the endless need for help as well as the regular check ups and administration of potions she was obliged to give Fred, led to many sleepless nights. She still felt the need to help around the house, especially as Mrs Weasley had turned her attention to looking after all her children, so Bianca also got up early everyday to cook and clean.

In her spare time, she also secretly planned on going off to the twins' shop, to gradually repair everything for them. She knew it was a project which would take months; the entire building was in ruins and she'd have to replenish all the stocks too. But she'd put aside restarting her job to look after her family and fixing the boy's dream was important to her.

A couple of days after Fred, George and Bianca had returned from the hospital, George pulled Bea to one side while his twin was resting.

"I'm worried about Fred," he said, "I think there's something still bothering him, but he won't tell me what it is."

"I've noticed too," Bianca said. That much was true. Despite the façade he put on around his family, she and George knew Fred better than anyone and could clearly see that something wasn't right. Whenever he thought someone wasn't looking, head clutch his head in agony but would then deny having any sort of headache. Fred was also reluctant to put any weight on his legs all together but despite his lack of movement, still had regular dizzy spells. He was still loosing weight, even though Mrs Weasley fed him endless streams of food at every meal and provided hundreds of snacks throughout the day. On top of that, he had a constantly high temperature which refused to lower.

"What should we do?" The pair were standing outside the twin's room, talking in hushed voices.

"There's no way he'll let us take him back to St. Mungo's," George said.

"We'll have to just talk to him about it when he wakes up. It's not like he can convince us we're wrong. Let me know when he's up."

George nodded and returned to their room while Bianca jogged downs to help Mrs Weasley prepare lunch. She'd only just managed to wash her hands and was beginning to chop up some lettuce, when she heard George's panicked voice shout her name desperately down the stairs. She immediately dropped her knife and bolted up the stairs, bursting into the twins' room where George was kneeling next to Fred's bed, pale faced and clearly terrified. Fred, meanwhile, was thrashing and hyperventilating, similarly to how he had when he woke up from his coma. His eyes were open, but rolled back in his head and his while body shook. The rest of the family were gathering in the doorway curiously to find out what was happening.

"I don't know what to do, Bea," George said, voice full of terror.

"It's ok, don't worry," Bianca quickly told Bill, one of the few people who was still managing to keep calm, to go and fetch her some things from downstairs and gently pushed George away from his twin.

She got her wand out, ignoring George's worried protests about being moved away. "It's just like at the hospital remember?" she said calmly to George while she worked, "He'll be fine, yeah?"

"This has happened before?" Bill asked, returning with her requested supplies.

Bianca nodded. She glanced at the rest of her family, gauging who was in a suitable mindset to help her. "Charlie, Harry, Hermione," she said, "Stay here and help me and Bill, please. Everyone else, take George and mum downstairs."

Of course, there was an uproar of protests, but Bianca shouted over all of them, attention still on Fred, "I don't have time to argue with you all! We can't have distractions- this is too important. Go downstairs and wait."

Shocked by her sudden confidence and control, Ron and Ginny guided George and Mrs Weasley away.

It took much longer to calm Fred down than it had at the hospital. Bianca was telling herself it was because she was the only trained healer there, rather than the whole team she's had at St Mungo's, but something else was telling her that this was something more. When Fred was finally back to normal and sleeping, and Bianca had checked that there had been no damage, she turned to the others, "Thank you for helping."

"Is he going to be alright?" Hermione asked, a slight quiver in her voice.

"He should be," Bianca smiled, "He's just not quite there yet."

Harry and Hermione left to return to else and it wasn't long before Bea could hear George's footsteps thundering up towards them.

"Why did that happen?" he demanded, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Bianca said, "We'll take him back to the hospital to have some tests done once we've had some lunch."

"I'm not hungry," George said quickly, "Let's go now."

"You might not be, mate, but we are," Charlie said, "And you need someone to go with you."

George huffed, "Fine. Lunch and then we're going. Promise?"

"Promise," Bianca confirmed.

George and Charlie went to get lunch but Bill grabbed Bianca's arm to stop her following, "Maybe you should stay here," he said, "I'll take the twins."

"What? Why?"

"You barely slept since the battle, and Merlin knows how much rest you got before that if you were staying with Death Eaters. You've been so busy looking after all of us, you haven't looked after yourself. Why don't you stay here and get some rest for a few hours?"

"Bill, you'll need me there, I'm a healer I can explain what-"

"George and I were there too," Bill interrupted, "I'm sure we'll be able to cope. Listen, someone would only need to glance at you to figure out you're exhausted. Honestly I'm shocked you haven't collapsed yet. You went through more than any of us did in the war and still you're running around madly trying to look after everyone. Have a few hours off for once."

"Bill, I'm fine. I've probably slept the same amount as everyone else."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "Except you haven't. You go to bed late because you stay up to clean after dinner, you're by someone's second in a heartbeat if they're having a nightmare and while everyone else is having a lie in, you get up ridiculously early to cook breakfast. We've all noticed. For all I know, you're probably still hiding some sort of injury from the battle because Merlin knows you didn't get out unscathed."

Bianca self-consciously moved her arms across her body "Look, I appreciate it but Fred-"

"Will be in a building full of people qualified to help him if something happens and George will be there."

She sighed, "What if someone has a panic attack or needs something?"

"Just because you're the best at calming us down, doesn't mean you're the only one who can," Bill said, "We can survive without you for a few hours."

So, very reluctantly after a bite to eat, Bianca returned to her room and clambered in the bed. After promising to tell her everything that happened at the hospital, Bill shut and locked her door and placed a charm around the room so that no noise from the outside would be heard or disturb her. He knew that if he didn't take these precautions, Bianca would either leave the room as soon as Bill was no longer there or be out of bed at the slightest noise. This way he was ensuring that she'd get some rest. It was obvious to everyone except her that she was over-working and very sleep deprived. Bill had to take action before she became ill or collapsed.

Unsurprisingly, Bianca fell asleep very quickly. When she woke up in the late evening, desperate for the toilet, she sleepily headed to the bathroom. Charlie had unlocked the door for her when he had come up to check on her so that she wasn't confined to her room. It was only when she was getting back into bed when she realised that the twins weren't there. Presumably, they'd just stayed downstairs so as not to disturb her, but some gut feeling made Bianca go to check.

"Are the boys back yet?" she asked Ginny, who was sitting on the sofa with Hermione and Harry.

Her sister's face fell and she shook her head, "We haven't heard anything either. It's been nearly eight hours. Where are you going?"

Bianca had collected her shoes and was slipping them on as quickly as she could, "Where do you think? I'm going to find out what's going on."

"Not by yourself, you're not," Mrs Weasley said, emerging from the kitchen, "It's late, I don't want you wandering around by yourself. Especially when…" she trailed off but didn't need to finish. Everyone knew exactly what she was going to say. It was getting harder and harder for Mr Weasley and Percy to keep the ministry away from Bianca. They were sure that any day now she'd be bought in for questioning. Kingsley had stepped up and was trying to take the role of Minister for Magic, something that the ministry was currently lacking, but even he was struggling.

"I'll go with her," Charlie said immediately.

Mrs Weasley clearly wasn't happy. She was already on edge and worrying about Fred but reluctantly allowed the two to go. She stood in the living room with her arms folded worriedly as the pair disappeared into the fireplace.


	62. Chapter 62

A/N: Right so I'm a little bit addicted to writing this story but I'm very aware of how long it's going on so this story will have 70 chapters and then I might write a follow up with the same characters but following their lives after this one like getting married etc so for anyone who likes reading this as much as I like writing it, it will probably continue after the last chapter in this story. Let me know what you think! :D

Chapter 62

"Sleep well?" Charlie asked Bianca as they made their way through the hospital.

Bea nodded, "I think locking me in was a bit excessive though."

"It was Bill's idea," Charlie held his hands up in defence, "But we both know what would have happened if that door wasn't locked."

"Hm?"

"You would have been in there for ten minutes to make sure the others had left and then been out following them straight away. Right?"

"Well, I'm not saying you're wrong, but-"

Charlie laughed.

They found their brothers in a waiting room which, apart from them, was completely abandoned. Fred and George were slumped against each other, heads together as they dozed peacefully. Fred was still in his wheelchair. Bill had his arms crossed and his chin was resting on his chest while he snored lightly. Bianca and Charlie smirked at each other and sat down, deciding to leave them be.

"I wonder why it's taking them so long," Charlie whispered, "There's no one else here."

"Either they've run some tests and it's taking ages for the results to get back or the healer they were meant to be seeing is busy."

"Not that I know the system that well," Charlie said, "But surely it would make sense to have a department for people who are just coming in and out quickly."

Bianca shrugged, "I guess, but sometimes people think it'll be a quick issue to sort out and they end up staying for weeks."

"That sounds like us," Bill yawned, having been stirred by his siblings, "We've been here ages. What year is it now?"

Bianca snorted, but ignored his jokes, "What's been taking so long?"

"It was really busy in here through the afternoon," Bill said, "We kept having to wait for emergencies seeing as we just want a consultation. We only got seen about an hour ago and they've been running tests. Healers keep coming in to take some blood or perform some weird diagnostic spell. I think really they just don't want to admit they have no idea what's going on."

They sat in silence for a while until George bolted up right and looked around wildly for Fred. No one batted an eyelid at this- the twins both always woke up in the manner, whether they'd had a nightmare or not.

"What are you two doing here?" he asked once he'd calmed down.

"You were taking too long," Charlie said, "We were getting worried."

"What time is it?"

"Ten," Bianca said.

"We've been here nearly nine hours?" George exclaimed, "Pfft, Bea, I think you need to have a word with the management about the comfort of their chairs here if they're going to make patients wait that long."

"Are you a wizard, or not?" Bill asked, "Just transfigure yourself a cushion."

George scowled, "But I shouldn't have to go to all that effort. And what if someone's been told they can't use magic!"

Bill opened his mouth to make a retort, but was interrupted by a healer knocking on the door. "Mr Weasley?"

George nudged Fred awake.

"If you could follow me please?" the healer said, "I'm afraid not all of you can come, though."

George and Bianca stood up immediately, "We'll go."

They followed the healer down a few corridors and into a little consultation room and took seats around a desk.

"My name's Hannah," the healer said, "I assume you're Mr Weasley's brother?" she added to George who gasped dramatically.

"How on earth did you know?"

"Lucky guess," she laughed and turned to Bianca, "So are you a girlfriend, or-?"

Bianca shook her head quickly and Fred smirked. "No," Bea said, "Not a girlfriend."

"Might as well be," George sniggered.

"Shut up," Bianca said, "You aren't helping."

"I'm sorry for prying," Hannah said, "I just like to make people feel more comfortable. Anyway, we've been in contact with the Office for Removal of Curses, Jinxes and Hexes at the Ministry, hoping that they might have some answers."

"You think it's whatever curse I was hit with that's still affecting me?" Fred asked.

"There's no other explanation," Hannah said, "Most of your injuries sustained from the trauma of the wall hitting you are fully healed. It has to be something magical."

"What did the ministry say?" George asked.

"It's nothing like anything we've ever seen. It's like this curse is eating away at you physically and magically. I doubt if you tried to perform even the simplest of stunning spells, you wouldn't be able to achieve it without collapsing. It's like a little parasite, driving your immune system insane, which explains the headaches, fevers and fits."

"Well what can we do?" Bianca asked, "We can't just go on, waiting for something to happen and then if it does just make sure we're there to stop it. What if no one gets there in time?"

"Obviously we'll continue to look into it and of course there is still a possibility that you could get over it on your own."

George looked just about ready to explode in anger so Bianca quickly thanked the healer, asked her politely to contact them if they had any more information and led the boys out of the room.

"What did you do that for?" George demanded, "She was useless!"

"It's not her fault Fred's ill," Bianca said.

"It's her fault he's not getting better," George grumbled.

"No it isn't," Bianca said firmly, "You know it's not but you still were ready to start an argument about it so we left. Now, let's go find Bill and Charlie so we can go home."

To say the rest of the family were annoyed that there was no progress would be a huge understatement. Most of the Weasleys were just about ready to storm St Mungo's and demand an explanation immediately, but together Bianca, Bill and Charlie managed to prevent this and calm everyone down. When they had all disappeared in pairs or groups to do their own thing, Bianca looked at Bill and Charlie. They shared a secretive nod and silently left the Burrow unnoticed.

Bea has enlisted the help of her two eldest brothers as well as Lee, Angie, Katie and Alicia to help rebuild the shop for the twins. Sensing that Fred and George were in a bad mood, the three had a mutual agreement to immediately go and start work on the shop. So, after a quick message to their friends, Bill, Charlie and Bianca made their way to Diagon Alley.

Together, the seven of them rebuilt the complete exterior of the shop and Bianca replaced all of the previous security systems. It took the rest of the day and most of the night to finish off at the shop and get back to the Burrow. Everyone was desperate to know where they'd been, but Charlie was quick to lie and say that they'd been out for a walk after being stuck at the hospital earlier. Thankfully, their family took this to be a reasonable explanation and the only questions asked were why they didn't bring the twins with them.

Diagon Alley was a strange place to be for the next few days. There were, just as there used to be, crowds of people everywhere, but now, those crowds weren't shoppers. They were builders. Shops which had stood on the alley longer than most of them had been alive were slowly coming back to life in front of them all. The team working on the joke shop had split up into little separate groups. Bill and Charlie were redoing the flat upstairs while Lee and Bianca worked on replenishing the stocks in the storage room, leaving the other girls to finish the actual shop floor. Bianca's heart had melted when they first arrived at the property to see dozens of balls of squeaking colourful fluff dashing around the rubble. The pygmy puffs had obediently stayed hidden in the ruins of their home and immediately flocked to Bianca. Now they were safely tucked in a comfortable pen in the flat receiving much love and attention from Charlie.

Just over two weeks after they started work, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes was completely finished and stocks has been mostly replenished. It had been difficult making all the products when Bianca had to keep dashing off to tend to Fred and Lee wasn't an expert in all the methods or recipes but the shelves were restocked and there were a few bits and pieces in storage.

The day that they planned to reveal the secret to the twins didn't start off quite as they planned. Bianca had to spend the first part of the morning cleaning up Fred's vomit and forcing him to drink some water. It was the first complication since they'd come back from the hospital and the family had silently been hoping that he was on the mend. Fred tried to reassure them that it could just be a bug or perhaps food poisoning but nobody was convinced.

So, after a slower start than expected, Bianca said to the twins, "Let's go for a walk. You two haven't been out in ages, you need some fresh air."

They both looked at her sceptically.

"Oh come on," she said, "I've barely seen you in days. Can't we spend some time together?"

"Might I remind you whose fault it is that we've barely seen each other?" George raised his eyebrow.

Bianca laughed, "Yes, it's mine, I know, but I have the day off so…" She'd been covering for her absences under the pretence of work at the hospital so that the twins wouldn't be too suspicious but they'd both started to suspect something when she didn't talk quite as animatedly as she used to about work.

She took the twins on a long walk around the country side to give Bill and Charlie a chance to explain to everyone else what was going on and get to the flat. Despite Fred's recent trauma, as soon as he had stepped outside, it was like he had never been ill at all. Bianca and George had both been prepared to walk considerably slower than usual and have to stop a few times to give Fred a rest but he was like an excited puppy, hiking briskly through the fields and basking in the sun. He did seem exhausted when they got back to the Burrow- as if they'd gone for a run rather than just a walk but Bianca couldn't let him stop for a nap. She grabbed his arm as he was about to sit down and pulled both the boys towards the fireplace.

"I've got a surprise," Bianca said, grinning.

"Are you sure using the Floo is a good idea after this morning?" George asked with a small smirk.

"It's this or apparating," Bianca said, "You both have to come."

"Awh, Bea," Fred pinched her cheeks and cooed at her, "How could we say no to more quality bonding time with you?"

Bianca rolled her eyes and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, "Try not to throw up everywhere," she said, patting Fred condescendingly on the head and ruffling his hair, "The Leaky Cauldron!"

"Bea," George said when they arrived, "I hate to break it to you, but we've been in the Leaky Cauldron before. It's not that much of a surprise."

Bianca rolled her eyes and produced two blindfolds from her pocket. They floated out of her hand and wrapped themselves around the twins' eyes. She hadn't quite got used to the extra magic she seemed to posses thanks to her father and didn't like to show off because of where she'd inherited it from. She was, however, itching to show the twins the shop and eager to save time.

"In a rush are we?" George laughed.

"Yes," Bianca said, jumping up and down slightly. Now she was so close, she couldn't contain herself.

She took both of their hands, squeezed them tightly and started pulling them gently out the pub and onto Diagon Alley. Fred was lagging behind a bit, so she interlocked her fingers with his and leaned closer to him to whisper, "It'll be worth it, I promise."

He nodded tiredly but his pace didn't pick up. When they got to the shop, Bianca told the boys to stop and turned them to face away the building. She then quickly ran into the building, hid with Lee behind the counter and, from there, vanished Fred and George's blindfolds. She heard them call her name out as they looked around and then stop abruptly when they caught sight of the shop. Bianca nodded at Lee and he flicked his wand, causing an impressive fireworks display to be set off. It was nothing compared to what the twins could famously pull off, but it was certainly better than nothing and Bianca and Lee had been quite proud of their fireworks. When the show had finished, there was a small round of applause from outside and the door squeaked open. That set off a classic trail as a little ping-pong ball rolled around the room, tipping over pots, making flowers erupt from all sorts of places and setting off funny noises. When it finally reached the end of the trail, the ball triggered the one change Bianca and her friends had made to the shop. Multi-coloured lights all over the shop lit up and illuminated the rooms like a bright, muggle disco. As soon as that happened, everyone jumped out from their hiding places. All of the Weasleys, along with loads of their friends surrounded the twins, cheering loudly. The boys looked completely overwhelmed and for a minute Bianca worried that they were upset until they grabbed as many people as they could in a hug and danced around the room.

Once the general hugs and 'thank yous' had passed, Angelina and Alicia summoned a huge table of food from the office and the biggest buffet many of them had experienced since Hogwarts, began. When people were crowded around the food, the boys approached Bianca. George wrapped her in a hug from behind and kissed her on the head, "I assume you organised this?"

"Maybe," she smiled.

"And 'at work' means 'rebuilding our shop', does it?"

"Perhaps."

"You're the best."

"It's all exactly how it was originally but obviously if you want to change anything you can we just didn't want to-"

"Bea," Fred said, "Shut up- you're rambling. We love it, thank you."

George was dragged away by Angelina to the side after he promised to talk to Bea later. Fred wolf-whistled and raised his eyebrow suggestively at his twin and George only winked back. Bianca smirked and looked at Fred, "I'm glad you're happy. I was worried you might have wanted to do it yourselves."

"That would mean either waiting for me to get better or letting Georgie do it on his own. We both know it couldn't wait that long."

"When do you think you'll reopen?"

"As soon as mum lets me out of her sight for more than three minutes," Fred laughed, "Did you do the flat as well?"

Bianca nodded, "Everything's done. Exactly how it used to be. And the storage room is nearly full upstairs. Lee and I struggled a little bit with a few products but-"

She was cut off by what, for her, was the biggest surprise of the day. Fred Weasley's lips had completely stopped her from talking by sealing themselves over her own. She barely had time to register this herself before he straightened and backed away, realising what he'd done.

"Oh, Merlin," his face paled, "I'm so- it's just you were rambling but you- and I-" He stopped and took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I'm just going to get some food."

Bianca nodded dumbly but said nothing, simply staring at the spot where Fred had been. She distinctly heard George shout, "You what?" through the crowd which snapped her out of her daze and forced her to move. She glanced around the room, trying to decide which conversation to join in with. Harry was talking to Sirius, Remus, Tonks and little Teddy in one corner with Ron, Hermione, Bill and Fleur standing not too far away. Verity and Ginny were huddled by the food table and everyone else was scattered in groups talking politely with each other and sipping some butterbeer. The group which particularly caught her eye, however, were her three girlfriends with Hogwarts who were giggling and bouncing up and down excitedly.

"What's happening here?" Bianca asked with a small smirk, already having a suspicion based by the look on Angelina's face.

"I may or may not be joining a certain George Weasley for dinner tomorrow night."

Bianca grinned, "That's brilliant!"

"Bea, what's he shouting at Fred for?"

Bianca glanced over at the twins awkwardly and lied quickly, "No idea."

George was standing very close to Fred, whispering quickly while Lee stood next to them, eyes wide. She knew that the girls would find out very soon; Lee would be sure to tell Katie and from there, the secret stood no chance. For now, however, she was adamant about keeping her mouth shut- at least until she had figured out how she herself felt about it. There'd be no point lying and saying she wasn't delighted. Bianca had been pining over Fred for years, but in the current circumstances, there was no way she couldn't have doubts. After everything Fred had been through, he must be feeling hundreds of different emotions and probably wasn't thinking properly so she couldn't take the kiss to mean anything really. All she would have to do was clarify with Fred later that nothing would be awkward and then they could move on. Simple.

The party at the shop continued for hours. There were photos, pranks and jokes and all the guests who came had the time of their lives. By the end of it, the newly cleaned and prepared shop was a mess and the twins had even taken some of their products off the shelves for entertainment purposes but, most importantly, everyone was happy. The guests all departed in the evening, leaving only the Weasleys at Diagon Alley. Fred slid down the wall and sat with his head in his arms. His exhaustion was understandable- anyone would be tired after the day he'd had, but when he was deathly ill, the fact he had managed to stay on his feet until now was practically a miracle.

Bill stepped over to his brother, "Come on, mate, let's get you home. We can use the Floo upstairs."

He hooked his arm under Fred's armpit and signalled for George to do the same on his other side. Together they pulled their brother to his feet and dragged his over to the stairs. Fred's feet stumbled as he tried to walk with them, but he was always slightly behind, mumbling adamantly about wanting to help tidy up. Mrs Weasley put a hand on Bianca's shoulder, "Go with them. Make sure he's just tired and there's nothing else."

Bianca nodded and, pushing aside what happened earlier, followed the boys upstairs. She caught the boys when they were half way up, trying to get Fred to put his feet on the stairs properly. In the end, Bill resorted to carrying his younger brother while George hovered behind to catch them, just in case and Bianca squeezed ahead to open doors.

George stood in the fireplace and Bill carefully propped Fred against him. Fred, of course, tried to stand by himself, only to have George laugh hysterically when his knees buckled.

"Come on, Mr Wobbles," George laughed, "You're acting like someone's put a jelly-legs jinx on you."

Fred mumbled something inaudible but reluctantly held onto his twin tightly. Together, the boys flooed to the Burrow and Bill and Bianca followed quickly behind them only to find George kneeling next to his unconscious brother who was sprawled out on the living room floor. Bea gasped and rushed over.

"Lazy, ungrateful sod couldn't even get to the stairs," George joked as the three lifted Fred onto the nearest sofa.

"He's got a fever," Bianca said, "He's just worked himself too hard- nothing to worry about."

"Mum'll fuss if she sees him like this," Bill pointed out, indicating to his brother's ill state, "Should we take him upstairs?"

Bianca shook her head, "I want access to the medical supplies from the kitchen. It's too far to run down here to get something and then all the way back up. Mum will want to stay and help clean up everything anyway so hopefully by that point Fred will be a bit better. George, can you grab me some supplies?"

She quickly told him what she needed and turned her attention to Fred. Bill excused himself to go and help at the shop leaving the three alone at the Burrow. George returned to the living room and handed Bianca the potions she'd asked for.

"This is starting to annoy me," he said, "I know it's not his fault, but I'm sick of Fred being so… so-"

"Ill?" Bianca offered.

"Yes," George sighed, "I want him to be normal Fred again! Not sick, could die at any minute Fred who pretends to be normal for the sake of everyone else."

"I can't say it's exactly the situation I want to be in either," Fred stirred slightly and groaned.

"I'm looking into it," Bea promised gently, "I'm doing everything I can."

Fred nodded, "I trust you. If anyone can make this better, you can."

As reassuring as he was trying to be, this faith only made Bianca feel worse. No one at St. Mungo's or the ministry had managed to come up with any solutions so Bianca had taken it upon herself to do her own research. She felt immensely guilty that she hadn't had any sort of breakthrough yet either, but Fred's trust in her just added more pressure.

"Bianca-"

"I'm not going to let you die," she said quietly.

"I know," Fred said, "I know that's the last thing you'd ever let happen." He took her hand, "We're all safe when we're together."

Bianca was silent for a moment before whispering, "Go back to sleep. You need rest."

She and George moved quietly into the kitchen and he immediately turned to her, "So?" he said cheekily.

"So what?"

"Fred."

"What about him."

"And you?"

"George-"

"He told me what happened."

"It didn't mean anything."

"Does he know that?"

"He's like my brother!"

"Wrong," George said, "You've always been closer than siblings. Just like you and me or me and him."

"Now isn't the time to be thinking about relationships."

"Why's that?"

"He's sick, George, I can't-"

"Can't what?"

"George-"

"Do you like him?"

"I-"

"Yes or no?"

Bianca glared at him.

"I'll take that as a yes," George decided, "And I know for a fact that he likes you too. So…"

"Would that not be extremely weird as well as awkward for you?"

"No," George shook his head, "You two are made for each other and as long as you're not too lovey dovey around the flat, I don't care. You've practically been in a relationship with him for years anyway- the amount of cuddling you do."

"I cuddle you as well!" Bianca protested.

"He knows you better than anyone on the planet."

"Except you."

"And yet, strangely enough, I don't plan on going out with my brother any time soon."

"No, you're saving that for Angie instead."

"Stop changing the subject," George said, while blushing furiously.

"What would you rather I do instead?"

"Admit that you have feelings for Fred."

"Fine! I like Fred. Happy?"

"Not as happy as he will be when you tell him."

Bianca scoffed. "Because you are going to tell him," George prompted.

"I can't, George. I'm not what he wants to be thinking about right now. He needs to focus on getting better."

"You've been slaving after him and sorting out everything he needs for weeks. Besides, he can't 'focus on getting better' when he doesn't actually know what's wrong with him."

"Now the shop's up and running again, I'll need to get back to work! I don't have time for-"

"For what? Us? Fred? Bea, you're making up excuses! You need to talk to him anyway, just see where it goes. Promise me you won't lie to him?"

"Of course I won't lie."

"Good. Now, just think of all the great double dates we'll have."

"Wishful thinking, Georgie," Bianca smiled, "Now, I think it's bedtime."

"I'm sleeping down here," he said immediately.

"Well you'd better go and fetch a blanket."


	63. Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Bianca woke up the next morning sitting on the floor of the living room with her head resting on her folded arms which were positioned on the sofa. Her head was next to Fred's torso and his hand was resting on her head, his fingers tangled in her hair. George and Bea had stayed in the living room all night, hushing the rest of the family as they gradually came home from the shop. Fred's fever didn't go down over night but at least when he woke up the next morning, he wasn't exhausted and could still go about his usual day. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Bianca.

They hadn't been up longer than a few hours when Mr Weasley rushed into the kitchen, looking very concerned. Mrs Weasley and Bianca, who had been cooking lunch for everyone, turned in surprise.

"Arthur, what's going on?" Mrs Weasley asked, moving around the table, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"They're coming for Bianca. We couldn't hold them off any longer. The ministry has decided to bring you in for questioning."

"Questioning about what?"

"Your loyalty to Harry."

After hearing his father's voice, George appeared in the doorway, "What's this?"

Mr Weasley quickly filled him in and George swore, "They have no right!"

"Well, no, but we'll sort it out. I just wanted to warn you to make sure nothing gets out of hand."

"You expect her to go with them?" George demanded.

"If she doesn't the officials will get aggressive and everything will get blown out of proportion."

"So you want her to get arrested?"

"I don't want any of this, George, but if Bianca agrees to come to the ministry, we'll calmly be able to sort it out."

George scowled but didn't have to chance to say any more because there was a sharp knock on the front door. Mrs Weasley wiped her hands on her apron and moved around the table to open it. George moved to Bianca's side protectively. She herself didn't really know what to feel. She hoped desperately that nothing bad would come of this and that it could get sorted quickly.

"Does Miss Bianca Riddle live here?" a very formal voice came through the kitchen from the door.

"Yes, Bianca lives here."

"Is she in?"

"Yes, just follow me through here."

Bianca rolled her shoulders back and breathed in deeply as three men entered, all three with their wands drawn. The one closest to her and George studied her, "You need to come with us to the ministry."

"She doesn't 'need' to go anywhere," George said angrily.

Fred popped his head around the door frame and asked, "Who's not going where?"

The men ignored him, "Look, this isn't an option, so you can calmly apparate with us or-"

"She's not going with you until you explain why she should," George said.

"We're investigating everyone for whom there is evidence that they might have worked against us during the war or supported the opposite side."

"Have you considered that the ministry itself was against us for several years."

"George-" Mrs Weasley warned.

"Mr Weasley, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This doesn't involve you and it doesn't need to be made complicated."

"No, she hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Well I'm sure we'll discover that for ourselves, but for now-"

"Will this be sorted today?" Fred asked, joining his twin and Bianca.

"That depends. We don't know how simple this will be to sort out. Obviously, we hope that we'll come to a conclusion quickly, but we can't know for sure."

George looked furious, "If you'd done your research properly, you would know that Bea would never-"

"Mr Weasley, it is merely protocol, please-"

"There are Death Eaters or seriously evil people out there, and you're wasting your time coming after someone you know is innocent?" Fred asked, "Don't you think there are better things for you to be doing?"

The men raised their wands and pointed them at Bianca, "This will be much easier if you just come with us willingly."

"Stand down, Harltey," a new voice ordered as Kingsley Shacklebolt entered the room, followed by Percy.

The man's wand dipped slightly before he held it steady again, "With all due respect, sir, we have all the necessary evidence needed to arrest Miss Riddle. Everything is in order."

"I told you weeks ago to stop this investigation," Kingsley said sternly, "And yet I still receive information that you have followed through and are now making an arrest?"

"Sir, we have completed all the standard paperwork and the whole department can tell you that the information we have is sufficient enough to carry out the arrest."

"Even if that involves disobeying direct orders from the minister?"

"Sir, for you to assume Miss Riddle is innocent merely due to a personal attachment to her family is highly unprofessional. We are just doing our job."

Clearly having heard the raised voices, Ron and Ginny also appeared in the kitchen, flanked by Harry and Hermione.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, studying the three aurors with a glare, "What are they doing?"

"Nothing that involves you," Hartley snapped. He turned back to Bianca, "Listen, we just need you to come with us so we can ask you a few questions and then you can come straight home again."

"You can ask her the questions here," Fred growled.

Just as another argument was about to break out, Kingsley stepped in between the Weasleys and the ministry workers with his hands up, "This is what's going to happen. Bianca, you will accompany these men to the ministry where you will wait for me before carrying out any sort of further investigation. She will be returned to the Burrow by this evening and, should there be satisfactory reason to talk to her again, it will be another day and after consulting me. Hartley, Jones, Adams, we will be discussing your positions in the office later this evening."

"This is ridiculous!" George shouted, "Bianca hasn't done anything!" Fred, Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione nodded in agreement. "She shouldn't have to be accompanied anywhere. Surely just the fact she's currently living in the same house as Harry Potter should be enough to prove she's on his side."

"It could be an act," Hartley waved him off, "Besides, it won't be long now before we find out."

The twins stood in front of Bianca, shoulders tensed, so that there was no way she could get past them. Mrs Weasley was holding a handkerchief to her face in shock while Mr Weasley stood with Ron and the others. Percy was still in the doorway, his hand in his robes, probably holding his wand. Bianca still wasn't sure what to think. She knew the sensible thing to do would be to tell the twins to calm down and go to the ministry but the part of her which just wanted to protect herself and hide was overpowering her and keeping her rooted to the spot. Kingsley had stepped to one side, clearly trusting that his men would do as they had been told. For a while, everyone stood still, not daring to move an inch. Fred took Bianca's hand behind his back and she stepped slowly towards him.

And then, very suddenly and without any reasoning, two of the aurors fired stunning spells at the twins who were both flung across the room. From then, chaos took over completely. The Weasleys all blew up shouting at the men in anger and fishing their wands out of their . Kingsley was yelling at the aurors, eyes blazing. Bianca, who had managed to decrease the distance Fred was thrown as she was still holding his hand when he was stunned and pulled him back towards her, knelt down next to him to assess for injuries. Apart from being stunned, he seemed completely fine but before she could rennervate him one of the other aurors grabbed her shoulder and yanked her to her feet. Kingsley stepped towards them hand up in a stop sign, but the man whispered, "We warned you," into Bianca's ear, pointed his wand at her head, and she collapsed, slumping into his arms.

When Bianca opened her eyes, she was tied to an uncomfortable chair facing a court full of people. She recognised one of the aurors who had 'arrested' her sat in the centre of the room, but aside from him, she knew only two others. Kingsley was standing next to the auror, face over-flowing with anger and, rather curiously, Harry was sitting in the stands amongst a group of others. He mouthed, "it's ok," at her and smiled reassuringly. Bianca was terrified. She didn't know how she got to the ministry, or really why she was even there in the first place. She was outraged that she'd been taken against her will, furious that the twins had been hurt in the process and baffled to how Kingsley had allowed this all to happen. Harry's presence made her feel slightly better, but she was sure that the men he was surrounded by were all convicted Death Eaters and the black ropes around their wrists did nothing to convince her otherwise.

The auror, Hartley, stood and cleared his throat and announced, "Now that we are all ready, we can begin. Miss Bianca Riddle, accused of alleged Death Eater activity and treachery to the wizarding world," he paused very briefly as if daring Bianca to contradict him before immediately signalling to one of his colleagues who grabbed one of the men sitting around Harry and pulled him to his feet.

"Mr Jones," Hartley started and as soon as the name left his lips, Bianca recognised him as the patient with gills in St Mungo's who was being treated there on the morning of the Death Eater attack, "You were present at St. Mungo's Hospital on the day of the 'Death Eater invasion' last month, correct?"

"I was."

"Could you tell us what happened?"

"All the patients on the ward woke up in the morning and there was no staff anywhere. Of course, we later learned that Death Eaters had kidnapped them all and were holding them elsewhere. Miss Riddle arrived early for her shift, presumably to help her father's men dispose of the staff without drawing attention to herself. She did a few rounds, acting all lovely and pretending everything was fine even though everyone could see that something was wrong. Then, she conveniently slipped into the store cupboard where the Death Eaters were meeting."

"And you saw her go into the room?"

"Yes, I had a clear view from my bed."

Bianca shook her head, knowing this wasn't true but knew there was no point arguing. It was clear from only five minutes in that this trial was biased.

"So what you're telling us is that Miss Riddle came to work early to set the scene of everything being normal at work and then secretly joined the Death Eaters in the store cupboard?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. She helped them to completely destroy the store cupboard meaning that there were no supplies for any of us."

"Which of course put all of the patients in serious danger because they couldn't be treated," Hartley finished for him, "And am I correct in thinking it was framed to look like she was the hero?"

Jones nodded, "She hurt herself in the store room to seem innocent and also to give herself an excuse to be away from work for a few weeks when it would be most important to be by her father's side."

"Miss Riddle, you were fired from your job at St Mungo's due to the incident?"

"Suspended," Bianca corrected.

"And is that because of your suspected treachery?"

"No, sir, the Death Eaters came to St. Mungo's in search of me with the aim of hurting me. I was suspended to keep the patients safe."

"And yet this was timed so conveniently so that you could spend the rest of your time leading up to the final battle with your father? Correct me if I'm wrong, Miss Riddle, but it sounds suspiciously like you were part of a plan to cause as much damage as you possibly could at the hospital in order to place the idea in your employee's mind that you are putting patients in danger so you could be suspended and then run off to support the opposing side in the war without disappearing. "

"You're wrong," Bianca said, "I didn't frame anything. I was suspended to protect both myself and the patients at the hospital and then returned home to find that my friends had been attacked too. It was from there that I was kidnapped by the Death Eaters and taken into their ranks where I was forced to stay."

The ministry worker told Mr Jones to return to his seat and then pulled another to his feet.

"Avery," Hartley said, "Convicted Death Eater and," he looked at Bianca, "Witness number two."

A small vial of clear liquid, presumably veritaserum, was brought forward and handed to Avery who drank it in one swig.

"You stayed in the Death Eaters ranks in the time leading up to the Battle of Hogwarts. Was Miss Riddle present also?"

"Yes, she was, and she worked closely with her father the whole time," he smiled maliciously, "She actively took part in the torture of Muggles and in the planning of our attack at the school."

Bianca looked horrified. Kingsley, who had snatched the vial from the worker after Avery had drunk it, flared his nostrils and his eyes blazed furiously. Harry clenched his fists and looked ready to jump up and fight everyone there.

"And what about the incident at St Mungo's?"

"Your other witness told the truth," Avery growled, "She worked alongside us and joined us immediately after she'd been fired."

"If that were true, how would you explain the fact that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, where I happen to live, ended up as rubble? The Death Eaters attacked the shop, and kidnapped me after I came to help the twins!" Bianca blurted out loudly without thinking.

"The Weasley boys are famous for experimenting," Avery retorted, "Not that I could ever know for sure, but I would guess that it was a product testing gone horribly wrong."

Hartley nodded, "Thank you Avery. Now, our final witness, Mr Harry Potter." Harry stood up, jaw clenched in determination.

"So far, the allegations are that Miss Riddle has gone behind your back and betrayed not only you, but all of wizarding kind. Now, as someone who has had a close relationship with Miss Riddle for so long, what do you have to say about the accusations?"

Harry took a deep breath in and looked at Bianca straight in the eye, "I've known Bianca for seven years," he began, "When I first met her, I didn't know much about her except that she was a quiet and reserved, yet insanely kind and generous person and that she had been raised by the most trustworthy, loving family I've ever met. Now, Bianca's surname might be Riddle, but she is a Weasley and I know that Weasleys are brave, caring and, most importantly, loyal.

"I was there when Bianca found out who her father was. I was there when he ordered his men to kill her the first time and I was there when they tried to kill her every other time. I was even there when he did kill her. And I know that she didn't cave into her fears and join them so she could save herself. Lord Voldemort gave her the opportunity to side with him and let her live but she refused. The only reason she went with the Death Eaters that day was because they threatened her family. Not out of fear, but because she was loyal. I've been lucky enough to know Bianca for a very long time and if there was a chance for her to help fight, she did. She stood by my side. She always did. Unlike you. I know what this is about. All those years when you were wrong and just couldn't bare to admit it. How can you bare to accuse people of being disloyal when until very recently the Ministry was corrupt itself? Do you really think arresting all of these people is going to make people forget that you were all wrong? And if that is the game you're playing, do you honestly, truly believe that arresting one of my closest friends is going to make things better for yourself? I won't bore you with the precise details of everything Bianca's ever done for me because we'd be here for years, but I assure you, this girl is not a criminal and you'd be making a huge mistake by locking her up."

Avery stood back up, looking at Harry defiantly, "What about the time at the ministry when you saw Miss Riddle torture Neville Longbottom with one of the Unforgivable curses?"

"She was under the Imperius curse!" Harry said immediately.

"Was she?" Avery raised his eyebrow. "Did you see that happen?"

"Well, no, but- she would never- Bea wouldn't hurt-"

"Mr Potter, you've said enough."

Harry sat back down and Bianca looked at him appreciatively, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Well, thank you Mr Potter, but however moving your statement may have been, you did not manage to provide any evidence to support your case. Therefore, unless you can now do so, we might have to consider your statement irrelevant in the context of a trial."

Harry's nostrils flared. Neither of the other two witnesses had bought any 'evidence' either but their statements hadn't been discounted. The court was so unprofessional and the whole situation was so obviously rigged, but there was nothing they could do. Kingsley had set his jaw, no longer looking angry, but now more determined. It seemed that he too had realised what was going on and also what the likely result of this trial would be, and now he was on high alert, hopefully creating some sort of plan. Harry tried to stand and give another statement, but he was quickly shoved back into his seat.

"Miss Bianca Riddle," Hartley said smugly, "You have been found guilty of Death Eater activity and spying for the opposite side. For your crimes against the wizarding world, you will be sentenced to a life sentence in Azkaban."

And so, after possibly the most unfair and unprofessional trial in history, Bianca couldn't stop the black, enchanted ropes from appearing around her wrists or the strong men who plucked her out of her seat and dragged her to the doors. Harry was on his feet, shouting and screaming in horror. Kingsley had taken Hartley's arm firmly and they were following Bianca and her captors.

She was taken through the Ministry and roughly pushed into a small office. Immediately, more ropes flew towards her, wrapped around her torso and dragged her to a chair. The men sat down at the desk and pulled out some paperwork while Bianca found herself gagged with yet another thick rope. Kingsley burst into the room not even a minute later, Hartely strutting behind him.

"Stop this immediately!" he demanded, "That trial was completely against all protocol. You have broken several ministry rules. I'd fire you all on the spot if we didn't have to sort this mess out first."

"Sir, with all due respect, the evidence against her is clear. There were witness statements under the influence of Veritaserum. She's dangerous! Is it not our aim to lock up and punish all Death Eaters?"

"Bianca is not a Death Eater."

"Sir, she's the daughter of-"

"I know exactly who she is, and if you'd conducted a fair trail and come to the same conclusion, you know that there'd be nothing I would do. However, in the circumstances, I must prevent-"

"She was found guilty, sir. We have to take her to Azkaban."

"You're not taking her anywhere until there has been a fair trail which follows protocol and which you won't be conducting. In the meantime, Bianca will be held here at the Ministry, not in prison. And that is an order. Now, you two, take Bianca to the cells downstairs and Hartley, you will join me in my office to plan a proper trial."


	64. Chapter 64

Chapter 64

The holding cells in the Ministry weren't the nicest place that Bianca had ever been. All she could hear as she huddled in the corner of her cell, knees tucked up to her chest, were wails and cries or perhaps the occasional cough. The whole area was smelly and damp and dark. She was quick to realise that she must have missed dinner as food was not provided. The stone walls were, unsurprisingly, not very comfortable or warming. Her hands were cuffed to the corner of the room and for some reason, her mouth was still gagged. She couldn't use any of her own wandless magic and obviously her wand had been confiscated.

Bianca was very worried about her family. She didn't want to think about what being stunned could have done to Fred and hated the thought of Harry returning to the Burrow to tell them what had happened. Perhaps Kingsley had gone with him to make it all seem better. She preferred that thought to the idea that they all believed she was locked up in Azkaban.

At some point, she must have fallen asleep leaning against the wall because she was startled awake by someone opening her cell door with a bang. In the pitch black cell, she couldn't make out who it was, but they unlocked her hands and easily picked her up fireman style. She kicked and punched the man as they carried her out of the cell and through the abandoned Ministry. It was very late at night, so no one was around except Bianca and whoever her kidnapper was. In the foyer of the Ministry, the man stopped and began talking to some others. Bea didn't know who they were, seeing as she was facing the other way, but the way they talked in hushed voices didn't sound too promising. She didn't have time to register that one of them had walked around to face her before they raised their wand at her and her head drooped, her whole body going limp on the man's shoulder and her eyes closing.

Once again, she woke up tied to a chair, but this time, she was in a small, empty room. The door must have been behind her as she couldn't see any way out and, once again, she couldn't use any of her magic. She sat there for a few hours, desperately trying to figure out what had happened and how she could get home when very suddenly, a man appeared in front of her. She didn't see how he'd got there, but she quickly recognised him as Hartley, the auror who had arrested her and held her trial.

"Morning," he grinned at her, "How are we feeling?"

Bianca glared at him icily.

"I reckon you might want an explanation," he said, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo Bianca knew a little too well, "I used to work for your daddy," he said, "And I figured, seeing as he never got the chance to finish the job himself, he might want me to take care of you for him. Don't worry, as far as the minister is concerned, you're being held safely in the Ministry, so we've got a few days to have some fun before we kill you, take you back to the Ministry and frame it to look like some horrible accident. We're in no rush. See, you've proved quite difficult to dispose of so far, so we needed a way to do it successfully. Would you like me to explain?"

Bianca didn't waste her energy by answering.

"Your father always was a fan of spies. There were quite a few of us in the Ministry- some more subtle than others. I was one of the lucky few to get away with never being found out. That might explain why you don't know me. When Lord Voldemort was killed at the battle and you got away unscathed, we knew we had to avenge him. Of course, going for Potter immediately would be stupid- he's a hero and there was no way we could. But you? You were easy to get. People have always been wary of you so all it took was a few carefully chosen stories and witnesses- it's amazing what people will with a bit of bribery. Shall we just say that Mr Jones is a little richer than he was previously and Avery is looking at a much shorter sentence after their help. Then we just needed to take you somewhere we could deal with you. Azkaban would have been ideal- then all of those people who got locked up fighting for your dad would have gotten some satisfaction in watching you die, but here will do just fine. No one will ever find out you had left your cell in the Ministry and assume you died there. A tragedy really. Oh, and don't think we'll be interrupted or that anyone could find you here. It is impossible. There is no way for you to get out. Now, shall we have a bit of fun?" he took his wand out of his robes, "Do you know how many of your father's supporters were killed in the battle or locked up afterwards? No? One hundred and fifty-three. You might want to remember that number. Do you want to know why?" he smiled evilly, "Crucio!"

Bianca clenched her jaw and tried not to show any signs of pain.

Hartley smirked, "That's one. Did that give you a clue? Crucio!" he paused, unbothered by the lack of response, "That's two. Can you guess how many times I'm going to do that? Crucio!" He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Only one hundred and fifty left."

He tortured her for hours. By thirty, she began to whimper. Fifty and the tears were streaming down her face. Seventy and she was screaming until her throat was raw. One hundred and she was thrashing and shaking uncontrollably. At one hundred and fifteen, she blacked out, only to come to again at one hundred and forty. One hundred and fifty and she slumped forwards again, her unconscious body still jerking and twitching.

She opened her eyes to find herself face-to-face with Hartley. "One hundred and fifty-two," he sneered, "Last one." He put every bit of hatred and anger he could find into the curse, grinning as he watched the girl's helpless body flop around, her mouth open as if to scream but no noise coming from it and her eyebrows knotted in pain. It was only several minutes later when he stopped, lifted her chin with his thumb and growled, "And that's nothing compared to the pain of a life sentence in Azkaban."

Bianca couldn't breathe. She felt like a puddle of molten jelly, completely lifeless and aching. Every bone was on fire, every muscle screaming and every organ ready to burst. Her limbs twitched her head lolled against her chest and her eyes rolled back in her head, lashes flickering. Her blood seemed to have stopped flowing- her heartbeat feeling no more than a tiny tapping. Oxygen didn't seem quite so sweet as usual either- in fact, it seemed more poisonous than anything else. She didn't notice Hartley leave and the hours before his return felt like years. Every time she slept, the pain just seemed to intensify but when she was awake, she was too weak to even tap her foot, let alone lift her head or attempt any sort of escape. She'd slipped down in her chair so that her back was bent awkwardly and her legs were splayed before her. Strangely, not even an hour later, she was able to move and felt infinitely better than she had previously. It hadn't really dawned on her that so many Cruciatus curses in a row would kill most people. Yet here she was, alive and functioning. Minute by minute, the pain ebbed away and she found herself more and more alert.

It was over a day before Hartley returned, once again appearing mysteriously in front of her. He was unable to mask the surprise on his face when he saw Bianca staring defiantly back at him, all signs of yesterday's torture session gone. She looked so calm and put together he almost thought he had dreamt the previous day until she said, "One hundred and fifty-three again, I presume?"

"Actually, I thought we'd play a different game today. There's something you want to know which I can tell you. Fred Weasley," he paused, "He's dying, yes?"

Bianca gritted her teeth.

"You don't know why," Hartley continued, "But I do. Would you like me to tell you? The Occidendum curse. It slowly eats away at you, killing you bit by bit. Oh, and did you know that you could have healed him by now? See, what makes the curse so clever is that the more you try to heal it the worse it gets. So as you've tried to heal each ailment, the curse feeds off the magic and gets stronger. What you really have to do is ignore all the symptoms and attack the curse itself. It's very simple. I could write down the recipe for the cure and the spell that goes along side it, if you'd like. See, Rookwood and I developed this magic together, so I guess you could call me an expert," he turned around, removed his wand from his robes and moved it around like he was writing. As he did, words were carved into the stone wall, describing each step of the method to defeating the curse complete with diagrams. "There you go," Hartley said, "That's all you had to do. It's such a shame there's nothing you can do about it now. You'll never see Fred again to be able to help unless it's in the afterlife. And there's no way of getting the information to him, of course. If only you knew this before! You could have saved him. Now, it's no use you knowing- you can't help."

Bianca shook with anger. This man was the epitome of evil. Yesterday, he had physically tortured her until she was left broken and sobbing. Today, it was mind games, getting inside her head and messing with her mentally. He knew this information would kill Bianca when there was nothing she could do about it. He knew how much she cared about Fred and how desperate she'd been for a cure. Now she had it but it was too late. She'd be dead before she saw Fred again.

"Poor George," Hartley continued, "Just when he thought he had you both back. How will he go on without you? He'll never know what happened or even that there was a chance for him to save his twin. The family will be completely torn apart without you both. Or maybe, they'll believe what's being printed about you right now. The Daily Prophet just love writing about your treacherous adventures. Claiming they were right all along and you are just a sneaky little daddy's girl. Perhaps your family will celebrate your death because they've finally realised how much danger they were in. Even Potter's starting to believe it- he's made no effort to help you since the trial. He might have gone home to tell them that they were wrong about you. I'm just waiting for their statement, their apology. Confirming to everyone that you're evil. Is that how you'd like to be remembered? Do you want Fred to die thinking that you betrayed him?"

"They'd never believe the Prophet over me," Bianca said.

"But you're not there to remind them of the truth," Hartley said, "They'll hate you."

"Stop it."

"Why? Are you scared I might be right?"

"You're trying to mess with me."

"I'm not trying. I'm succeeding. Have you had enough talking for today?" he reached into his robes again and produced a small, sharp knife. He walked around to the back of Bianca's chair, untied her arms and shoved her to the floor. Before she could scramble away, he placed her in a full body bind cursed before putting his wand away. He rolled up her sleeve and knelt down next to her, tapping his fingers on the hilt of the knife. Starting at her shoulder, he sliced once deeply into her skin, producing one long slash. "Can you remember my favourite number?"

Of course, the body bind curse prevented her from replying, but he continued anyway, "One hundred and fifty-two left."

He made tally marks all the way down her left arm and then the right, before rolling up her trousers and doing the same on both her legs. The cuts were deep enough to draw blood but not so much that it would kill her before he was finished, so red liquid oozed from every part of her limbs, collecting on her skin and then slowly forming dozens of scarlet rivers onto the floor. When he'd filled up all her legs with cuts too, he carelessly removed her shirt completely, making sure to rub the fabric roughly against her arms to unclot the wounds and cause blood to flow again. Then he continued his markings across her collarbone, ribs and stomach. Bianca couldn't squirm, flinch or even express her pain. Each time, the cool blade would sooth her burning skin before piercing it and only add to the discomfort. Hartley would make the line, remove the knife, carefully clean the metal on his robes and start again, always with a grin on his face.

When he finally ran out of space on her now soaking bodice, he looked into her eyes, "That's one hundred and fifty. Only three left. But where to put them?" He considered this for a moment and then, quick as a flash, deeply sliced open both of her cheeks, making two straight lines underneath her cheekbones. "One left," he said, twirling the knife between his fingers maliciously. He held it close to her throat, threatening to cut and then shook his head, "Too quick. I've still got so much more fun to have with you." Then, holding the knife between his teeth, he rolled her over so that her bare stomach was pressed against the floor, the cold shocking her slightly. She felt the blade at the very base of her neck and then as it made a channel, between her shoulder blades and down to her waist, following her spine.

"There," Hartley stood up proudly and removed the body bind curse, "One hundred and fifty-three is a good number, isn't it?"

By the time Bianca had hauled herself into a seated position, he was gone again. With a shaking hand, she compressed the cuts on her arm, trying to keep her breathing steady. There was no way she could bandage every inch of her skin but she at least stood a chance of stopping the bleeding. Surprisingly, however, when she moved her hand away and wiped the blood off with her shirt, there were no marks aside from the red stain. She stared at her hand as if somehow the cuts might have moved elsewhere but the wounds were gone- one set of tallies completely healed. She creased her brow and slowly moved her hand up her arm smearing blood everywhere but miraculously removing all sign of injury. She did this all across her body, somehow unexplainably healing her cuts. It took a lot of awkward twisting to reach her back but she was fairly sure she managed to vanish every cut on her body and the only evidence left was the dried blood which stuck to her like glue. The floor was stained red and her clothes were completely ruined but somehow, she'd escaped day two unscathed.

Until Hartley returned the next day, Bianca split her time, partially trying to figure out what she had done to heal herself and partially looking for a way out of the room. She had quickly figured out that there was no way through the walls- she'd gone around twice looking for any sort of weakness to no avail- and then moved to jumping on each section of the floor. It dawned on her that there had been a reason Hartley hadn't tied her up again. He was just playing more mind games. He knew she wouldn't find a way out but also knew that she'd try desperately. It was all some cruel trickery to drive her mental slowly.

By the time Hartley came back again the next day, Bea had given up, righted the chair and sat back in it, slumped forward. She'd purposefully avoided looking at the wall where he had written the cure, knowing it would annoy her to read. Once again, Hartley couldn't mask his surprise when he saw her sitting calmly with not a single scar left. He was holding a large chest under his arm which he dropped promptly and rushed over.

"How-" he grabbed her wrist roughly and pulled it towards him, inspecting her arms and gently rubbing his thumb over her cheek. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Bianca said, slapping his hand away from his face, "I'm just a fast healer."

"There are no marks left," he said, "How?"

"I don't know!"

Hartley looked very sceptical, "Well, they've rescheduled your trial for two days from now which means, unfortunately that tomorrow will be our final day together. I was going to ask how you'd like to die, but I don't think you deserve the honour of choosing. I'll have to have a think about it and it can be a big surprise tomorrow. It'll have to be something we can cover up and make seem normal which rules out quite a lot, but I'm sure you'll still love it."

"Can't wait," Bianca said.

"In the meantime, however, I figured that you wouldn't want to waste your last full day being alone! I bought a friend with me," he knelt down next to the chest, loosening the fastenings.

Bianca's eyes flicked between Hartley and the box, suspicious of what might be in there. Once the chest was unlocked, he stepped back towards her and tied her arms together and her legs and waist to the chair frame. Positioning himself behind her, he held her head forward so she'd have no choice but to look at whatever was going to come out of the box. Much to her surprise, a very familiar person clambered out, looking at her warily, his ginger hair covering his forehead.

"George?"

"Bianca," he spat, his face contorted in disgust, "I can see you're finally getting what you deserve."

"Wh-what?"

"You're a traitor. Everyone knows it. Dad should never have bought you home when you were a baby. He should have just left you by the river to rot. Look what's happened because of you. We've all been shamed just because we fell for your tricks."

"George, I didn't-"

"Don't talk to me," he shouted, "I hate you! We all hate you! Fred's dead because of you. You couldn't save him- you didn't save him! You killed him!"

George's image flickered to show an almost identical body, lying on the floor, pale and limp, Bianca was so shocked it didn't even occur to her that is couldn't be real. George couldn't magically transform into his dead twin, even for just a second. She was too horrified to even consider that anything but the truth was being shown.

"See?" George was back, pointing at her accusingly, "You did nothing for this family but tear us apart. Now everyone's been fired, the shop's completely ruined and we can't afford to live."

Bianca tried to breath normally, but her chest was contracting at a very irregular rate and her heart was pumping far too fast. Tears blurred her vision and littered her cheeks. Her sobs and wails were so heart-wrenching that George's voice could barely be heard over them anymore. Her muscles shook as if they too were crying as she desperately shook her head, trying to regain control of her emotion and allow common sense to shine through. But in her exhausted, starved and tortured state, the only plausible explanation for George's appearance was that he was here, confessing his hatred to her. And even the thought of that was enough to send Bianca into uncontrolled panic, let alone the actual vision and reality of it. Her vision tunnelled as her mind replayed the horrific scene, so she didn't see Hartley step in front of her, banish George's image and relock the box and didn't fully get her senses back for a few minutes. By that point, Hartley was standing in front of her, arms folded impatiently as he waited for her to calm.

"Well that was a nice goodbye," he said, "How interesting that he just confirmed everything I told you yesterday. I told you I'd succeeded yesterday."

When Bianca looked up, he had gone. It's not like she could have argued if was still there. It had suddenly dawned on her, only after the trauma, that she had faced a Boggart. And what it had shown her had been all of those little seedlings of ideas which Hartley had planted yesterday in his cruel mind games. Only they'd grown and flourished into nightmares which, as far as her tired mind had been able to see, had come true before her eyes. Now, she had no way of knowing what was true. She had no idea what was happening at home.

She never would know either, because tomorrow, she would die, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She was defenceless, weak, half-starved and had no cards left to play. She couldn't trick him into telling her how to get out and she didn't have any mind games of her own left. Bianca would die and Hartley would get away with murder.


	65. Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Percy Weasley sprinted through the Ministry to his father's office, ignoring the odd looks people were shooting him and pushing past multiple people without stopping to apologise. He burst into Arthur's office, out of breath and wild eyed but continued to his father's desk, slamming his hands down on the surface.

"She's gone," he said.

"Hm?" Mr Weasley didn't look up from his work.

"Dad, Bianca's not in the cells downstairs. She's missing."

That got Arthur's attention. He snapped his head up so fast that his glasses slipped off his nose, but he didn't bother retrieving them, "What do you mean?"

Fred and George had been going completely mental at home, constantly asking about Bianca and wanting endless updates. Finally, Percy had got so annoyed by their constant questioning, that he'd agreed to secretly sneak down to the cells and check up on her. Technically, he wasn't allowed to visit prisoners but he'd managed to sneak downstairs and checked in every single one of the blocks. He was certain that Bianca was not in the Ministry.

Mr Weasley shot to his feet and ran from the room, Percy following all the way back across the building to Kingsley Shacklebolt's office. He didn't bother knocking, bursting through the door and demanding to know if there had been any progress made on Bianca's case that they hadn't been informed of.

Kingsley placed his quill on his desk, "Arthur, I promised to let you know immediately if anything happened that you needed to be aware of."

"Well could you possibly explain why she isn't in her cell?"

"Don't be ridiculous Arthur, I made sure she was escorted there myself."

"Percy has just been down to check on her and she isn't there."

"Arthur, I don't have time for this."

"And you know I wouldn't bother you unless it was important."

With a small sigh, Kingsley got to his feet and they set off again, down in the lift to the very bottom of the building. The workers there immediately removed all the charms which kept the gates locked when they saw Kingsley. The three walked through the cell blocks, glancing in each one and ignoring the desperate cries. It took a while but eventually they ended up back at the entrance and Bianca was nowhere in sight. Kingsley stormed over to the nearest guard and grabbed his collar.

"Where is the prisoner Bianca Riddle?" he demanded.

The guard just stuttered in response.

"Come on, you've either known not to provide food or failed to report her escape so you must know what happened. Where is she?"

"There are no records of anyone with that name being held here sir," said another man from a few meters away who was standing next to a book, "She was never signed in."

Kingsley growled and stalked away, Arthur and Percy scurrying after him. Not long after, they found themselves outside the aurors office before Kingsley stopped, "Do not follow me in. I know who is responsible and have a plan. Wait for me here, I will fill you in later."

The pair stood anxiously outside the office for a few moments until the door opened again and Kingsley took them both back to his office.

"You remember Alexander Hartley, the auror who made the arrest at your house? He is the one who has been responsible for most of this situation. He bribed witnesses to provide evidence which would work in his favour at the trial and even used fake Veritaserum substitute to make it seem genuine. However, with a real sample, I have discovered that he himself is a suspected Death Eater and his aim is to get justice for what happened to Lord Voldemort. I thought it would be safe to keep Bianca here until I had enough evidence to take him down but apparently I was mistaken and he's been one step ahead of me."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"I have told him that the rescheduled trial will be held in two days' time. If his plan is what I think it is, then he will want Bianca dead before then and will therefore have to return to wherever she is within the next two days. We just need someone to be with him when that happens. I don't want a Ministry team on it, just in case word gets around. Can I assume your family will be willing to help?"

"Of course, we'll bring Bill and Charlie in tomorrow. We can trust them."

"Right," Kingsley nodded, "Well, I'll let you go home now and update everyone. Get sorted for tomorrow."

Needless to say, the family were outraged when they heard about what had happened. The twins immediately demanded that they join their brothers in the rescue.

"No," Mr Weasley said immediately, "Bill, Charlie and Percy will go alone. We can't risk Fred getting hurt or either of you getting carried away and ruining everything."

"But we want to help! Surely the more people there, the better!"

"On the contrary," Percy said, "Five people with bright ginger hair following him around is sure to bring attention. We know what we're doing, you can trust us."

Fred and George remained in a very bad mood all night, taking every opportunity to hint that they should help or could be useful in some way. Everyone else tactfully ignored them and had to physically hold them back in the morning to stop the twins from following the others to the Ministry. Bill and Charlie followed Percy through the halls to the aurors office where they positioned themselves outside the door, perched on a bench outside. They had fake paperwork out in front of them and were pretending to work on something but had positioned everything so that it could be cleared away quickly.

It was a few hours before Hartley finally left the office, but when he did, Charlie was ready. He stretched out his arm, stood and firmly shook Bill's hand. "I'll get that sorted," he said, gathering some paper into a file and following Hartley. Bill and Percy waited a few moments before they too cleared up and walked off together, tracking their brother carefully but with their heads put together in a faked deep conversation.

It was easy to trail him to the foyer, the crowds made them seem like normal workers on their way to a meeting or just to their office. Charlie was hot on his heels, managing to slip into the same telephone box as him as it rose to Muggle London. From there, it got a little more difficult as Charlie was forced to wait for his brothers before they continued so that they wouldn't lose each other.

What none of them were aware of, however, was that two others were following Hartley so closely that Bill, Charlie and Percy's panic wasn't necessary. Fred and George Weasley, both wearing their own Headless Hats had been standing right next to Hartley all morning, not letting him move an inch without following. Now, they were following him to a small alley in London. George had insisted on holding onto Fred's arm, just so they could be sure that they wouldn't lose each other along the way, so when he realised what was about to happen and lunged forward, Fred too was tugged. Therefore when Hartley apparated, he had two secret hitch hikers with him and they all ended up in a secluded area together. The twins looked around and gasped when their eyes fell on a scarily familiar prism shaped building on the horizon. The clearing they were in was on top of a small hill which overlooked the rough ocean. Right in the centre of the ocean, on a small island, was Azkaban prison stuck up against the sky. Waves so large the twins could see them from where they stood battered the coast of the island.

Distracted by the sight of the infamous prison, Fred and George didn't notice Hartley moving until he was already carefully clambering down the cliff face.

"Watch where he goes from the edge," George whispered, "We can't climb down invisible- we wouldn't know if one of us falls. As soon as he's out of sight, we'll go after him."

Together, the twins crept to the edge of the cliff and peered over the edge. They could see Hartley a few meters below, expertly scaling the rock, clearly using a familiar path. He lowered himself to the bottom where there was a tiny rocky bay and then vanished.

"There must be a cave," Fred said, removing his invisible hat.

"Come on," George turned around so he could place his foot on the cliff face.

"Wait," Fred said, "Let's contact Charlie- tell him where we are."

"We don't have time to wait," George said.

"I'm not saying wait for them to come," Fred sighed, "But at least if something happens that we can't deal with, we know help will be coming."

George nodded, "Do it quickly."

Fred swiftly sent a patronus message to his brother, explaining their location and what to do when they got there and the boys then proceeded to cautiously clamber down the rock towards the foot of the cliff. It took a long time and George didn't help things by frequently asking Fred if he needed to rest. Fred was always fast to remind him that resting on a vertical wall wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world and they'd continue.

After what felt like an eternity, they both reached the bottom, heaving for breath and arms aching.

"Where's the cave?" Fred asked, staring at the clearly solid wall before them.

"You don't think he apparated?"

"He can't have," Fred said, "We watched him until he was out of sight."

"Look," George pointed at a tiny crack at the very base of the rock face and pushed the toe of his foot into the gap. As soon as he did this, the stone vanished like a curtain which had been pulled back to reveal a room from a bird's eye view. It was very disorientating and Fred and George dreaded to think what weird sort of magic had been used, but they were looking at the hole like they'd look at a board in class except the 'board' was actually the ceiling of a chamber. It was like gravity had been twisted and this weird cave had been turned on its side. Pushing away the strange sense of vertigo, the boys squinted to see what was being held in the cavern. They could see the top of a girl's head as she was slumped in a chair, a man standing over her.

"That's Bianca," Fred said, taken over by a sudden impulsiveness. He stepped forward before George could stop him and suddenly vanished from his twin's side.

"Would you like to know how I'm going to kill you?" Bianca was jerked awake from her uncomfortable slumber by Hartley's joyful voice. Exhaustion had quite suddenly taken over her, and, not having the energy to fight it, Bianca had succumbed to a horrible sleep. She didn't know how long she had slept for, but it must have been a while because Hartley had clearly been to visit while she'd been out. Having been sure she'd fallen asleep on her chair, she was now sprawled on the floor, covered in fist-shaped bruises, and her head pounded. She was sure there was also either a trickle of blood or sweat running down her temple and the pounding in her brain only confirmed one of those suspicions.

"What did you do to me?" she growled, sitting up and clutching her head in agony.

"I just had a bit more fun!" Hartley defended, "It's not nearly as good when you don't know, but I can assure you I still had a lovely time."

"Come on then, enlighten me," Bianca sighed, "How am I going to die today?"

Hartley laughed, "That's the thing," he leaned in close to her, "You aren't going to die today."

Bianca raised her eyebrows, not even bothering to believe him, "Is that so?"

He pulled a small bottle out of his pocket, "Know what this is?"

"Do tell."

"The draught of living death. Quite a large sample too. Would you like to know what I'm going to do with it?"

"Flush it down the toilet?"

"Nope."

"Damn, I am disappointed."

"I'm going to make you drink it."

"Wow, what a surprise."

"Do you want to guess what happens next?"

"Couldn't possibly imagine."

"I'm going to take you back to the ministry and put you back in your cell. Then, when they come to take you to your trial tomorrow, they'll find what they'll assume is your dead body instead. And then, 'boo-hoo' everyone's very sad, nice big funeral and- for the big finale- you will either suffocate in your own coffin or be cremated alive."

"You must have thought very hard about that."

"Oh, I did. And do you know what the best part is?"

Bianca feigned enthusiasm, "What could it possibly be?"

"I've edited this potion. I won't bore you with the details, but essentially, you'll be able to feel everything. And-"

"Oh there's more? I am lucky."

"You're experienced with the Cruciatus curse, yes? You know what it feels like. Well, how would you feel if I told you that you'll be feeling something pretty similar to that until you die?"

"I don't think I can even begin to express how ecstatic I would be."

"Get ready to feel pretty ecstatic then," Hartley said with a malicious grin.

"You spoil me," Bianca sighed.

"You don't seem too scared," Hartley noted, almost disappointed.

"Weirdly enough, I'm used to nearly dying. It's happened quite a few times. I suppose you could call it a habit at this point. Harry and I are competing to see how can nearly die the most times."

"You're about to be disqualified," Hartley said, "Open wide."

He picked Bianca up easily and threw her onto the chair, tying her unnecessarily tightly to it. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head back. He forced her mouth open, uncorked the bottle with his teeth and held it to her mouth, slowly tipping it forward, so that the liquid threatened to spill into her mouth. She felt a distinct wetness on her dry, cracked lips and instinctively lapped it up, desperate for something to sooth her hoarse throat. It was a reflex after being so dehydrated for so long and she couldn't stop her tongue from collecting as much as it possibly could. It was only then she realised nothing had happened to her yet- she was still very much conscious.

"Did I forget to tell you?" Hartley asked, "It's very slow acting so there's enough time for us to have some more fun! I'd hate for you to miss out on anything in your last few days. I'm just trying to give you a good experience."

"You really are too kind," Bianca mumbled, desperately trying to stop herself from drinking any more of the potion, despite the large quantity which was already inside her. Thankfully, not even a second after she'd finished speaking, the bottle was dropped and smashed all over the floor for a very surprising reason.

A half-angry, half-confused Fred Weasley stood before then, wand raised as she wildly looked around. He was joined quickly by his twin, who wore a similar expression. Bianca's heart raced. Part of her hadn't recovered from the Boggart experience and was half expecting the boys to turn around and start shouting at her but the rest of her was insanely excited. For the countless time in her life, she had accepted the fact she was going to die but now there was this slither of hope that she might be ok. Hartley was the first to react to the new visitors, by shouting in surprise and raising his wand. Shocked by the sudden noise, George spun around, accidentally knocking into Fred who tumbled backwards and pushed Hartley to the floor. Seemingly forgetting that they were all wizards, the three fumbled around on the floor, kicking and punching, wands forgotten on the ground next to them. Bianca could only watch from the side, gradually becoming more and more drowsy as the potion began to kick in and desperately trying to grab one of the twin's attention.

A few minutes after the brawl started, four more Weasleys and the Minister for magic appeared in the chamber too, all looking extremely confused.

"Charlie," Bianca mumbled as the new arrivals went to join the fight.

Her older brother knelt down next to her and began working on untying her bonds, "What's he done to you?"

"Living death," she slurred, "Not really dying."

"It's ok," he told her, "We'll find you an antidote."

"Charlie," her body was starting to ache horribly and she fought to stay awake.

"Shh. You're safe now."

"No, but Charlie, the-"

"Bianca's it's fine," he told her, "We're here now. We can help you, just calm down."

She couldn't see how the fight was going, but bearing in mind it was six against one, she wasn't particularly concerned. The fight wasn't the only thing she couldn't see, however, because her eyelids felt like they were magnetised to each other and she couldn't stop them from closing.

"The wall, Charlie," it was taking every part of her energy to ignore the searing pain which was in her blood and get her message to her brother, but he'd stopped listening while he untied the ropes around her middle. "Charlie," she wined, "The wall. Read the-"

Charlie finally undid the final knots that held Bianca up and she fell forward limply into his arms. He caught her against his chest and held her head gently. She still talked into his shirt, but her muttering was incoherent and it was barely even a few seconds before she was in a deep, death-like sleep. Just like Hartley had said, she was in agonising pain the whole time. Every pain she'd ever experienced, whether it was from a migrane, stomach ache, broken bone or even worse, she could feel. It was as though Hartley had combined every pain-causing injury and shoved it into one drink. Charlie's hand in her hair felt like it was made of hot knives. Concerningly, however she wasn't aware of anything except what she could physically feel. Thanks to the draught of living death, her heart was barely pumping and blood was hardly moving around her body which meant the need for breathing was very small. To Charlie, who was holding her, and everyone else in the room, she would appear dead. In fact, if she hadn't managed to tell Charlie what she'd consumed, they'd probably be planning her funeral pretty soon.

And as relieving as it was to know she was saved, Bianca didn't think she'd ever be able to forgive herself for not reading the recipe for Fred's antidote and learning it. Even worse, she hadn't managed to tell Charlie either.

Despite her distress, Bianca couldn't stop herself from relaxing when a very familiar, comforting pair of arms took over from Charlie's and scooped her up instead.


	66. Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"What's happened to her?" Fred demanded, kneeling next to his brother and placing his fingers gently where he was sure there was meant to be a pulse.

"Draught of Living Death," Charlie explained, "It's fine."

Fred released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding, wrapped his arms around Bianca's horribly small frame and shifted her onto his lap. George and Bill, both sporting burst lips and black eyes came over, looking very concerned, leaving Percy, Mr Weasley and Kingsley to deal with Hartley. Charlie quickly explained again what had happened, raising his voice so that everyone in the room would hear.

"We have antidotes at the Ministry," Kingsley said, "We'll all go back there and get this sorted today. It doesn't need to be dragged out any longer. Arthur, Percy if you could bring Hartley."

They apparated directly to Kingsley's office, something the Minister allowed for this specific situation and Percy ran to find an antidote for Bianca as well as some Veritaserum. It was agreed that they wanted honest statements from everyone before they left so Hartley could be arrested so, while Bill, Fred and George were tending to Bianca, Kingsley and Arthur were interrogating Hartley, finding out everything they possibly could so Percy could jot it down.

It took about fifteen minutes after Bianca was given the Wiggenweld potion for her to be able talk properly or sit up straight but when she managed to, she was keen to help Kingsley and ignored everyone's fussing over her.

In the early evening, the family left the Ministry together. Bianca was getting very annoyed by everyone constantly asking if she was alright. They had, of course, only grown more concerned when they learned she had been tortured, and their persistent fussing was quickly becoming intolerable.

"Can you all just stop?" she had practically shouted when Percy had asked if she was alright to walk to the exit without help, "I appreciate that you're worried and that's very sweet, but, as I have told you all countless times, I am fine. I don't need you all turning into mum! If I need help, I'll ask, so in the meantime, quit looking at me as if I'm about to drop dead or collapse. Your constant asking is giving me a headache."

"It's what?" George said quickly, "Do you want some water? Maybe you should sit down."

Bianca glared at him, but he just laughed, "Chill," he raised his hands innocently, "I'm only messing with you. I totally understand your need to be strong and independent or whatnot. Let's go home."

The rest of the family looked slightly shocked, but didn't let on as they made their way home. Bianca was itching to get back to the house and be with everyone again more permanently this time. That was until she suddenly remembered something and stopped in her tracks.

"We have to go back."

"Bea," Fred said, stepping towards her, "We're going back home now."

She shook him off, "No, that's not what I mean. We have to go back to the cavern."

The family shared blank looks, clearly thinking she'd gone insane. "Bianca-"

"The wall! It was written on the wall and I never thought to-"

"What are you talking about?" Bill asked.

"He wrote the cure for Fred's illness on the wall of the room as some sort of freakish mind-game because he knew I wouldn't be able to do anything with it. I never thought I'd survive so I didn't torture myself by reading it but then you all came and I tried to tell Charlie but-"

"I thought you were delirious," Charlie finished, putting his head in his hands, "And I didn't listen."

Bianca swallowed thickly, "Exactly. So we need to go back."

"We can't go back, Bianca," Mr Weasley said, "It took so long for us to leave that when the entrance opened, the tides had come in. The cavern's flooded completely. We barely got out." This had been the reason the apparated straight from the cavern instead of stopping outside first to get some fresh air and regroup.

Bianca's jaw fell open, "But that-"

"We still have Hartley remember," Fred said with an easy grin, "We can get it out of him."

"Not today," Mr Weasley said, "We all need to go home now. Your mother will be so worried."

Bianca was silent the rest of the way home, but couldn't deny that she was starving, desperately dehydrated and in definite need of a nap. Charlie too seemed very annoyed, cursing himself for not listening to Bianca. Naturally Mrs Weasley was in tears when everyone got home. She'd been waiting anxiously in the kitchen with Harry, Hermione, Ron, Fleur and Ginny since lunch. She'd also been beside herself when she'd discovered that the twins had vanished to go and help so couldn't contain her joy at seeing everyone back together again. She smothered Bianca in a hug as soon as she entered the room and then forced her into a chair before rushing over to the counter top to begin cooking, all the while muttering about how thin Bianca was. Once everyone was settled with mugs of steaming tea, Bianca pulled Harry aside.

"I want to thank you for what you did at the trial," she said, "You didn't have to say all of that."

"It's not like it made a difference," Harry said.

"That doesn't matter," Bianca insisted, "It doesn't mean I appreciate it any less."

"After everything you've done for me," Harry said, "I think you deserve it and I'd have done it ten more times if it meant I could have stopped what happened."

"I can't even begin to imagine how hard it was for you to come back and tell everyone."

Harry shrugged, "It wasn't great. Fred and George may have broken several pieces of crockery and tried to charge on the Ministry."

Bianca smirked, "I'm not surprised."

They re-joined the family to enjoy the extensive feast Mrs Weasley was preparing. Bianca lost count of the servings she had- every time she finished her plate, Mrs Weasley, who had deposited herself as close to Bea as she possibly could, dolloped another spoon onto her plate and watched until she'd taken a mouthful. Her glass also seemed to be magically refilling itself with water after every sip she took from it.

As was the norm now in the Burrow, the night was littered with nightmares and while George and Bianca were sitting with Fred after he'd had a particularly vivid dream, the twins looked at her.

"You're being quiet," George said, "Did we do something?"

"What do you mean?" Bianca waved them off, "I'm just tired."

"You've barely spoken a word to us since you got home," Fred supported his brother, "You didn't laugh at any of our jokes."

"You two do realise I was just kidnapped and tortured for several days, right?" Bianca pointed out, "Did you expect me to be one-hundred percent again immediately?"

"Of course not," George said, "But you've been talking to Harry-"

"To thank him for trying to help!"

"You haven't thanked us," George said easily, "You would be dead if we hadn't come."

Bianca shut her mouth immediately and an awkward silence fell across the room.

"I'm sorry," George said finally, "I just-"

"He used a Boggart to torture me," Bianca said, "That's why I've been 'weird' and quiet."

"A Boggart?"

"Hartley liked mind games," Bea continued, "He'd placed ideas in my head because there was no way for me to prove he was wrong and then made them come true."

"What sort of ideas?" Fred asked.

Bianca opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of how to start. "He told me you'd all hate me and that-" she bit her lip, "And that Fred was dead."

The twins looked at each other over her head, "You didn't believe him though. Surely."

"Where was the proof that you didn't? It's not like you were there. Besides, I'd already been there for a few days by then and it didn't help matters when he brought out a Boggart which all but confirmed what he said. George wouldn't stop shouting and Fred was so… dead. I guess when you came to save me, I just wasn't expecting you to still care."

"Bea," George said dangerously quietly, "If anyone ever tells you that we don't love you, please don't ever believe them."

Bianca nodded, then suddenly snapped her head up, "How did your date with Angie go?"

Fred snorted and shook his head.

"I didn't go," George said sheepishly.

"You what? Why?"

"Bea, think about what had happened! Harry comes home and tells us you've been sent to Azkaban, I couldn't exactly go out for a romantic meal."

"George," Bianca sighed, "At least tell me you told her why."

"Of course not! How was I meant to explain that? I was going to go and see her or send her an owl but we got a bit distracted."

"First thing tomorrow, you are taking that girl a bunch of flowers, apologising and then you're going to bring her somewhere for a nice meal where you can explain everything, ok?"

George saluted, "Yes, ma'am."

"I can't believe you cancelled on her like that."

"It was that or bring her out somewhere, tell her that one of her best friends has been locked up and be depressed the rest of the night."

"You're such an idiot."

"Hey, at least I did something about starting a relationship."

Fred and Bianca looked at each other mischievously and simultaneously pushed George so that he tumbled off the bed, "You're banned from cuddle time," Bianca announced.

"Fine by me," George picked himself up and bushed off his pyjamas, "You two have fun."

Fred lobbed a pillow at his brother.

"Besides," George continued, "Thanks to Bianca's relationship advice, I'll have someone to cuddle with soon enough too."

"If she forgives you for standing her up," Fred pointed out.

"New rule," Bianca said, "George isn't allowed cuddle time until he has successfully pleased Angie."

"Pleased?" George raised his eyebrows.

Bianca rolled her eyes, "You know what I meant. Made up with. Apologised to and been forgiven. But if you want to wait that long, that's fair enough."

"No!" George said immediately, "Not that it would take that long anyway. I'm irresistible."

"If you say so, Romeo," Fred said, "Now go to bed."

He wrapped his arm around Bianca's shoulders and laughed as he watched his brother begrudgingly climb into bed and turn his back on them. "Stop being grumpy," Fred called, "It's your fault."

George rolled over and stuck his tongue out at them before huddling under the covers.

"Are you alright now?" Bianca whispered to Fred.

"Hm? Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your nightmare," she prompted.

"Oh right," Fred said, "Actually, I think I need a bit more cuddle time."

"Yeah?"

"For you more than me, of course. You've been through a lot." He pulled her into him and held her tightly, "I missed you."

"I hope everyone looked after you properly."

"No one as good as you. They were useless."

"Don't worry, you've got your personal healer back now."

"Personal slave more like," George muttered from across the room.

Bianca smiled and said quietly to Fred, "I'm sorry about the cure."

"Don't worry," he whispered back, "Like we said before, we can get it back from Hartley."

"I just wish we didn't have to."

He kissed her lightly on the top of the head, "I'm just glad you're alive. Although, George and I were talking and we think it might be time to get the bubble wrap out again."

"Right, if you say so."

"I do say so," Fred said, "But right now, I want a cuddle."

He wrapped both of his arm around her waist and dove into her so that they both tumbled sideways onto his bed.

"When can we move back to the flat?" he asked her.

"As soon as mum lets you out of her sight for more than two minutes." She snuggled her head into his pillow as she felt his warm breath stroke the back of her neck. He raised his hand to rub circles on her back gently before applying more force when he felt the tight knots in her muscles.

"You're so tense," he whispered.

"I've been tied to a tiny wooden chair for a week. Sorry I haven't had the chance for much relaxation."

He started massaging her shoulders slowly, untangling and soothing her sore muscles. For a few blissful minutes, Bianca relaxed into his touch until very suddenly, everything became very overwhelming and she tensed, "Stop," she said quietly but severely, "My back's fine."

"What's wrong?" he asked, pulling his hands away from her as if she were on fire, "What did I do?"

"Nothing," she said, "It's fine, I just-" she sat up and made to go back to her own bed.

"Wait," Fred said, "I'm sorry. But please, just stay here with me? In case I have another nightmare."

Not being able to resist his puppy dog eyes, Bianca lowered herself again to lie on her back next to him.

"Bea, what did I do? Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head and gently placed a hand on his cheek, "It was just too much."

"I'm so sorry, you know I would never-"

"I know," she interrupted, "Just go back to sleep."

Fred tenderly put his arm under her neck so her head could rest on the inside of his elbow for support as she closed her eyes for the first comfortable sleep she'd had in days.

The next morning, the twins were dragging her out of bed early and taking her down to the kitchen.

"Why the rush?" she yawned, "I'm tired."

"Boys," Mrs Weasley came into the kitchen looking annoyed, "What are you doing waking poor Bianca up at this hour? She needs to recover."

"She's fine, mum, besides, it's important."

Bianca groaned, sipping on her coffee, "What's important?"

"We're going to Diagon Alley."

Mrs Weasley tutted, "The shops aren't going anywhere. Let Bea have a few more hours sleep."

"No, mum, she said herself last night that we would do this first thing tomorrow."

"I was delirious last night," Bianca defended.

"Yeah, of course you were."

"I didn't literally mean first thing!"

"Oh well, you're up now," Fred said, "You can always have nap later."

So, after a quick breakfast, the three Flooed to the Leaky Cauldron and began to stroll down the beautiful street. Most shops were now up and running again and Bianca felt like a little girl again admiring all the colours and wonderous magic.

"I can't believe you got me up early just to buy flowers. Couldn't you have gone without me?"

"Do you think we'd know which flowers to buy for a girl?"

"You're not as incompetent as you'd think, you know."

"Even so, we thought you'd appreciate the fresh air after so long in a dark cave."

Together, they purchased a radiant bunch of red roses and a box of chocolates before heading to the joke shop. The twins were thinking about opening up within the week so they wanted to make sure everything was ready for customers. There were still stocks which needed replenishing and they planned to work on that today along with everything that needed put in place for the grand opening. They planned on doing all that today so that whenever they decided to open, all they'd have to do is show up.

For a few hours, they huddled in the office and planned the fireworks display and celebrations for when they re-opened. It was, hopefully, going to be the most magnificent show the twins had ever pulled off. After that had all been sorted, they climbed the stairs and pushed open the door to storage. There, they worked and worked, brewing potion after potion and making product after product until they had so many, even the shelving couldn't fit everything and there were boxes strewn across the floor. They had been carrying boxes up and down the stairs to the shop floor all day, setting them out in new, exciting ways. George and Bianca were busy tidying up the ingredients when there came a deafening series of crashes, a call of surprise and then silence. The pair shared a horrified look, dropped everything and sprinted from the room, taking the stairs four at a time until they nearly tripped over Fred who was lying lifelessly on the carpet. One of his legs was bent strangely and propped on the bottom step and he was sporting a deep gash above his eye.

George knelt down next to his twin heart pounding while Bianca sent an urgent patronus message to Bill and Charlie. She told them both to come to the shop immediately but gave nothing away about anything else. She made to go and join George but hesitated when she saw the complete lack of colour in his face and how he was hyperventilating.

"George," she said gently.

"Bea-" his voice cracked and wavered, "He's dead."


	67. Chapter 67

Chapter 67

The healer part of Bianca wanted to make George step away from his brother and examine Fred herself. Every other part of her wanted to believe George, break down and sob. For a few moments, the healer part of her was over ruled and tears threatened to attack, but then, she looked again at George and took action. She summoned a glass of water from the flat and bent down to George's level. She took one of his shaking hands and forced the water into it.

"Take a sip," she said, "Breathe properly. Calm down."

"Bea- he's-"

"Shush," she said, guiding him to his feet, "Come and stand over here and wait for Bill."

"No. I want to-"

"George, listen to me, you need to move out of the way so I can help."

Reluctantly, George got to his feet and allowed Bianca to lead him to the side where he leant against the wall, still breathing unevenly. Then, the last thing Bianca wanted to happen, happened and George collapsed in a dead faint. Bea took a few deep breaths and then left George to tend to Fred, who she decided was slightly more important in the current situation. Thankfully she'd only managed to sit down when the door burst open and her two eldest brothers burst in.

"What happened?" Bill demanded.

"I don't know. George and I heard a crash and came down to find Fred like this. I'd only just messaged you when George said that Fred was dead and then fainted."

"Have you checked on Fred?" Charlie asked.

Bianca shook her head and turned her attention back to the unconscious boy in front of her. Much to her horror, she realised George might have been right in his earlier statement when she could feel neither a pulse nor Fred's breath.

"Charlie, please tell me dad's managed to get the antidote from Hartley."

Charlie coughed awkwardly, "Well, he got a recipe."

"Excellent, how long before it can be placed in front of me?"

"Give it about five months- give or take."

Bianca let out a frustrated groan and put her fingers to her temples, desperately wracking her brains for anything Hartley had told her about the curse. When an idea sprung to mind, she quickly decided it was both the craziest and far-fetched idea she'd ever had, but it was still the only chance she had. Very gently, she closed her eyes and placed her hands on his chest. She remembered how she'd managed to heal herself from injury in the cavern and desperately hoped she could use this strange miracle power on other people too. Hartley had said that the curse was like a virus and, sure enough, she could feel some strange energy fighting back against her. She, in turn, focused her power on this force and fought against it. She was completely unaware of Bill in the background while he helped George sit up or Charlie who was looking at her very curiously. She was imagining a small ball of burning light inside Fred which she was trying to destroy. That was the analogy which she was using to make sense of Fred's illness. As the sphere fed more off Fred's energy, it grew larger and hotter until it would finally overpower him completely. Right now, she needed to get rid of the ball. She tried to focus her power on containing the curse and then slowly shrinking it so that it would implode or be destroyed. In all honesty, she didn't fully understand what was happening to Fred but whatever she seemed to be doing seemed to be helping as she could now feel a heartbeat under his chest.

Bianca closed her eyes and concentrated more- she could feel the curse fighting against her and a few minutes later, she could feel a trickle of blood stream from her nostril and drip down onto her arms. She creased her eyebrows and scrunched up her face and took deeper breaths as she felt the curse fight her more and more. She was suddenly extremely grateful for the strange powers she'd inherited from her father and her passion for healing now made a lot of sense. It didn't take long for her to quickly become terrified. The curse only seemed to be getting stronger and only fighting her more. Seriously panicking, she tried to pull her hands away and back up but she seemed to be stuck to him and couldn't move. Both her nostrils were now sources for worrying quantities of blood and she shook with the effort. Bea let out a terrified scream and tears tried to flood from her sealed eyes.

"Charlie," Bill got to his feet, "Charlie pull her off him. She's killing herself to save him."

Bianca quickly realised that the curse was overpowering both her and Fred. The heartbeat she'd managed to salvage had vanished again and she could feel her own faltering. If she and Fred were going to make it through this, she would have to work harder. So, she ignored Charlie, who had his hand firmly on her shoulder and was trying to tug her away from Fred. Instead, she tried to calm herself and continued, managing to readjust her hands somehow and control her thoughts so she could fight back stronger.

"Wait," George said, his face still slightly pale, "Leave her."

"George, it's not safe, look at them."

"No, she can do it. Let her try."

Charlie shuffled back slightly, but watched his siblings intensely so he could yank them apart if things truly got out of hand. A couple of minutes later, Bianca felt a very strange sensation pass through her body. Suddenly, the healing magic she had been using to save Fred all rushed out of her in a stream of golden light and poured into him. She felt the curse pop at the overwhelming wave of power and simultaneously both of their eyes flew open and they gasped. Bianca breathed heavily for a few seconds before she keeled to one side, her hand still resting on Fred's chest.

Fred himself was still lying on his back, looking around the room while his vision slowly became less blurry. George shot to his feet and ran to his twin's side, throwing himself over Fred in a bone-crushing hug.

Charlie and Bill were kneeling by Bianca's body, leaving the twins to have their moment. George was crying into Fred's shoulder having not quite recovered from watching his brother die.

"It's ok, Georgie," Fred smiled, "It's all over now. I'm ok."

The door to the shop burst open and the rest of the family came rushing in, all looking terrified. Mrs Weasley looked at Fred and George embracing and visibly deflated. There was an audible sigh from the group.

George raised his eyebrow, "How did you know-"

"The clock," Ginny said, "We all heard mum scream and all came running to see Fred's spoon on 'dead'. Took ages to calm her down enough to convince her that we should come and check to be sure. Wasted quite a bit of time trying to contact Bill and Charlie until we saw that their spoons were at the shop with Bea and George so then we came straight here."

"What happened?" Ron asked. He looked at Fred, "You're not dead."

"Well noticed," Fred said sarcastically, "But I don't actually know. I can't remember anything of today. Last thing I know happened is that I went to bed last night."

Everyone looked at George instead.

"We came to the shop early to sort things out for the opening," he began, "We'd been working all day and Bea and I were tidying up upstairs while Fred bought down the last few boxes of stuff. Then there was this really loud crash and we came down to find Fred lying here at the bottom of the stairs. I guess that's when Bea must have messaged Bill because I went straight to Fred," George paused for a moment and looked at his twin, "You were dead," he said, "Actually dead. As in no heart beat, no pulse, no breathing, nothing." He ran a hand through his hair, "It's all a bit fuzzy after that, really."

"Charlie and I came straight after we got Bea's patronus," Bill said, "When we got here, Bianca was with Fred and George was passed out on the floor."

"What?" Fred laughed, "You fainted?"

"I was scared!" George defended, but he went a lovely shade of beetroot.

"It doesn't matter," Charlie said, "I think the best person to explain what happened is probably, Bianca, but she's not in much of a state to at the moment." He and Bill moved aside to reveal her limp body to everyone else.

"She's fine," Bill said, before anyone panicked, "She just used too much energy saving Fred. But no one needs to worry about anything anymore. It's over."

Mrs Weasley was staring sceptically at the pool of blood on the boy's carpet and Bianca's stained face but even she had to admit the girl didn't appear to be in any distress. In fact, as soon as Charlie had magically cleaned her face up, she just looked like she was sleeping peacefully.

"Let's head home," Mrs Weasley said, "You three have had quite the day."

"I have something I need to do first," George said, "But I'll meet you at home. I won't be long, I promise."

Fred looked at his curiously and Mrs Weasley looked concerned, "Are you alright to go alone?" she asked, bustling over and pressing a hand to his forehead.

"I'll be fine mum," George smirked, "It won't take long, honest."

"Well, take it easy," she said.

Fred got to his feet unsteadily and said, "I assume I'm meant to know where you're going but seeing as I've forgotten the past twelve hours, I have no idea and expect an explanation when you get back."

George nodded.

"Don't abandon me for too long," Fred said.

The family left the shop together, stopping only to allow the twins to lock up before going their separate ways. Charlie was holding Bianca tightly to keep her safe when they apparated. Fred chose to side apparate with Bill just in case and then they all walked the mile or so from the apparition point back to the Burrow. Once home, Charlie took Bea straight upstairs and laid her on her bed in a position he hoped would be comfortable and then hurried back to join everyone else.

George came home about half an hour later with a humongous smile on his face and from the second he stepped through the door, he and Fred were joking like they'd never joked before- bouncing off each other effortlessly and easily bringing everyone to a truly joyful mood which they hadn't experienced for years. When Mr Weasley and Percy arrived home too, they were both truly baffled to find everyone in such good spirits. They'd both been fully prepared to explain to everyone how they were working on a cure for Fred and hopefully it would be ready fast enough but the whole family had smiles pinned to their faces and they all looked so young and full of life that it was infectious, and the pair didn't even know what had happened yet.

"What's the party for?" Mr Weasley asked, kissing his wife hello.

"Oh, Arthur, it's the most wonderful news," Mrs Weasley said and continued to explain everything she knew about the evening's events.

"I'm afraid we'll have to wait for Bianca to wake up before we know anything else. The boys have little patches of missing memories," she said and Fred smirked.

"Poor Georgie," he said teasingly, "He was just so overcome with grief."

"You tell yourself that, mate," George said, "But really I was just surprised my plan to get you to pop your clogs actually worked. It was shock."

"George!" Mrs Weasley, "You mustn't say things like that!"

"I'm only joking mum," George said, "Besides, he's fine, look. He stands up and everything."

"How did Bianca do it?" Percy asked, "You said she didn't even have a wand?"

"Nope," Charlie confirmed, "Nothing. She just knelt there next to him and put his hands on his chest. It was freaky, she just sat there for ages, but then suddenly she went really pale and started shuddering and her nose started bleeding."

"She let out the most horrible scream," Bill said, face contorted in pain at the memory, "It was the most awful thing I've ever heard. But then, really quickly, she calmed down and bam! A few minutes and a weird golden light show later we had a fully functioning Fred."

"Did anyone else notice that she wasn't marked or scarred in the slightest when we rescued her?" George asked, "We all know how Hartley tortured her but there wasn't even a scratch."

"We'll ask her later," Mrs Weasley said, "But now, I need some help here, a few people to de-gnome the garden and some volunteers to start clearing the shed out. Fred, George, you two can go upstairs if you want."

As soon as the boys reached their rooms, Fred turned to him brother, "Where did you go?" he whispered, conscious of Bianca who was sleeping beside them, "It was something to do with Ange, wasn't it? I can tell by the way you're smiling."

George nodded, "I went to apologise to her and gave her some flowers. I explained everything and I'm taking her out to dinner tomorrow. Alicia said she wants to take everyone out to one of those Muggle clubs she likes too so we thought maybe we could meet everyone after."

"What about Bianca?" Fred said immediately, "Even if she's awake by then, I'm not sure she'd be up for 'clubbing' or whatever it's called."

"Would Bea ever be up for clubbing?" George asked, "From what the girls said, it's all loud music and big crowds- not Bianca's thing at all."

"We can't just leave her out completely!"

"It was just a suggestion, Freddie, you don't have to come."

Fred gasped dramatically, "You mean you'd go without me?"

George shook his head, "You know I wouldn't. Especially not at night. How about this then- I'm taking Angie out wither way, and I reckon everyone else will be going out anyway too. So, if Bianca's awake, either all three of us go or none of us, depending on what she wants and if she's not up yet, we'll go out with the others."

"And just leave her here?"

"Did you have plans?" George said sarcastically, "What were you going to do if she was still out? Sit here with her in silence?" he didn't let Fred answer, "No, we would be downstairs with everyone else teasing Percy or playing chess. I hate to tell you, but she isn't going to miss us."

Fred glared at his brother, "I just wanted to thank her."

"What for?"

Fred rolled his eyes, "For not laughing and making you embarrassed when you fainted," he said sarcastically. He slapped George across the back of his head, "For saving my life you idiot."

"Well, thanks to her, you now have many years to do that. A few hours won't do any harm."

Fred nodded, his lips pursed, and agreed. The twins spent a few hours developing new products for the shop, hoping to produce a new line to cheer everyone up after the war. They brainstormed for a while and then took some notes and starting working on basics for their ideas before joining everyone downstairs for dinner. When everyone was seated, Charlie looked up and said, "I got a letter from my boss in Romania earlier. They need me back there at work to help out. I can't really complain," he continued sadly, "I love my job and they've been more that understanding. I have no more than a week to get back to work. I'm sorry to say it, but I'm leaving early on Saturday morning."

No one seemed to know what to say. They were all so used to having everyone around the house again that it hadn't really occurred to anyone that they were all adults and had jobs to go back to. Bill and Fleur had been talking about moving back to Shell Cottage for a while and now Fred was better, it seemed like it wouldn't be much longer before they did just that. Percy had his flat to return to in London and of course the twins had the shop.

When Bill and Fleur announced they'd be returning home on Saturday too and Percy only added his own departure, Mrs Weasley sniffled and wiped a tear away, "Right. Well, we'll have a big party on Friday night," she decided, "We'll invite everyone and send you off properly."

"Excellent," Fred said cheerfully, "Maybe Georgie can bring his new girlfriend along."

Everyone snapped their heads to look at the twins and there was a chorus of, "What!"

"She's not my girlfriend," George said calmly, "I'm just taking her out for a meal tomorrow night."

"Who?" Everyone demanded simultaneously.

"Honestly," George sighed, "So nosey. But if you must know, it's Angelina Johnson. Our friend from school."

Mrs Weasley immediately started firing endless questions at George, demanding to know everything about Angie and then lecturing him on how to treat girls properly.

"Don't worry," Bill said quietly to George, "Hopefully you'll only have to listen to this once and the girl will be totally worth it." He winked and put his arm around Fleur's waist and kissed her on the cheek affectionately.

After going through everything George was not allowed to do and absolutely must do, Mrs Weasley listened to George's plan for the date, made a few adjustments and then approved that he'd done a good job.

"And you're staying out afterwards?"

George nodded, "We'll meet up with the others afterwards for a while."

"Who?"

"Honestly, mum we're not nine years old," George sighed, "But Fred, Lee, Alicia and Katie."

"And before you ask," Fred continued, "Don't bother waiting up for us. We'll be late back."

"We'll have some hangover potions ready for the morning," Charlie joked.

Mrs Weasley chose not to say anything, knowing full well that her sons were old enough and responsible enough to go out for the night and drink, but that didn't necessarily mean that she wanted them coming home at a ridiculous hour completely off their faces.

Harry winced, "The twins are bad enough sober," he teased, "I'd hate to see them drunk."

Fred shook his head, "We are amazing to be around when we're drunk. Life of the party."

"Even more so than usual," George added.

Ginny sniggered, "Somehow I very much doubt that. Anyone else up to staying up late tomorrow to find out?"

"If they're going to be anything like I imagine they will, somehow I think we'll all be waking up anyway. Purposefully or not," Percy said with a slight frown.

"You know, Freddie, maybe we should stay at the flat tomorrow night," George suggested, "To avoid the unnecessary bullying from our dear family."

"But then who would look after you when you both wake up with awful headaches and spend the morning vomiting?" Charlie asked.

"Like we're not experienced enough to keep potions in the flat," Fred scoffed.

"Except," Bill said, "As the person who restocked your cupboards after the building was destroyed, I can reliably inform you that there are no hangover or sobering potions."

The twins looked betrayed and Mr Weasley chose that moment to swiftly change the topic of conversation, "Who shall we invite to this party, then?"

For the next fifteen minutes, the family wrote up an extensive list of guests whom Mrs Weasley would write to the next day. Everyone had an early night and retired after clearing up dinner.

"Do you think we should have taken her to St Mungo's?" Fred asked his twin while he changed into his pyjamas.

"Who? Mum? No, I'm pretty sure she'll recover from the idea of her babies getting drunk soon enough."

Fred stuck his tongue out, "I mean Bianca. We technically don't know what's wrong with her."

"Bill and Charlie both have pretty good first aid skills from years of experience in jobs where they nearly die on a daily basis," George said, "They both said she just needs rest."

Fred nodded and very carefully pulled the covers around Bianca's small frame before depositing himself at the foot of her bed, "I suppose. I just hate the idea of something bad happening because of me."

"You're hopeless," George said, "Both of you."

"What do you mean?"

"It's obvious!" George said, "You're obsessed with each other but neither of you had the guts to do anything about it. So I'm going to say this, and you will listen. You love her. She loves you. It's not weird, everyone can see you're made for each other and I'm sure you'll live happily ever after. There's nothing to stop it any more. So, when she wakes up, you're going to tell her, yes? And it's going to beautiful and mum will probably cry, and then we can get on with our lives. Yes?"

Fred stared at George in shock for a while, registering everything he'd said. Finally, he blinked slowly, took Bianca's limp hand and said, "Ok."


	68. Chapter 68

A/N: Only two chapters left after this one! I've started working on book 2 of this but I've also has an idea for a completely separate story so it's safe to say book 2 will be much shorter than this one. I hope everyone is enjoying this story enough to want to continue reading a second part. :D

Chapter 68

By the next evening, Bianca still hadn't woken up and George was getting ready for his date. Fred was watching from his bed, looking very bemused, "Why are you so scared?" he asked. "It's only Ange."

George glared at him, "I just don't want to mess up."

"You won't. Besides, if you do, by the end of the night you'll both be drunk enough to forget about it and forgive each other."

"Gee, thanks, mate."

"Have a good time," Fred said genuinely, "I'll see you later."

For a few hours, Fred stayed in their room, working more on products and humming to himself. For a while, he sat beside Bianca's bed and talked to her. He wasn't sure what kind of weird coma she was in- if she could hear him or was just in a really deep sleep. It didn't do any harm to talk though and it comforted him. He then decided to get changed and head to Lee's so they could meet everyone in town. He was worried about going out in an unfamiliar place to experience something that he had never experienced before. No matter how many times the girls told him how fun it was, he was still concerned.

He said goodbye to his family and Flooed to Lee's apartment in London.

"Ready?" his friend asked, a goofy grin on his face.

Fred tried his best to match it, "Definitely."

Following the directions Alicia had given them, the pair walked to their meeting point where Katie and Alicia stood, chatting excitedly. Katie squealed when she saw Lee and wrapped him in a hug, kissing him excitedly. Alicia giggled and Fred had to hide a smirk.

"How long has it been since they saw each other?" Fred asked Alicia.

"At least twenty hours," she replied.

As they quickly found out, Fred and Alicia would be majorly fifth wheeling all night. Five minutes after Fred and Lee arrived, George and Angelina came around the corner, hand in hand and grinning madly.

To begin with, they all sat together at the bar and caught up over some drinks. Once they were all satisfyingly tipsy, the girls dragged the boys up to dance. For George and Angie, dancing quickly turned into snogging, ignoring the crowds of people around them who pushed past them or bumped into them. Not long later, Lee and Katie were in a similar position and Fred could only roll his eyes and take Alicia to get another drink.

"I think they might be stuck to each other," Fred said, looking at his brother in disgust, "Do you think we need a severing charm?"

Alicia in her less than sober state only dissolved into fits of uncontrolled giggles.

"I wish people always found me as funny as you do right now," Fred smirked, and then raised his voice, "I think you need to lay off the alcohol for a while."

"What?" Alicia asked, "The whole point of going to a club is to get completely mortal and have such a good time that when you feel miserable the next morning it all becomes worth it."

"Another round then?" Fred smiled, downing another drink.

George, Lee and Fred entertained the girls for a while with some awful 'dad-dancing' which had them doubled over in laughter. By the end of the night, Angelina's lipstick was on George more than her, none of them could stand up straight, walk in a straight line or properly control all of their limbs. Lee had spent a considerable amount of time slumped against the bar feeling dizzy, Alicia had been to the toilet several times to throw up and the twins had done the most beautiful slow dance together much to the amusement of everyone else. Lee and Katie had also had a very slurred argument over who had the better boyfriend/girlfriend. George and Angelina's attempts to sing along with the music had resulted in a full-blown stage show on the bar until Angelina had gone over on her ankle, tripped on a glass and tumbled to the floor. George persistently claimed he was just the better performer and continued until he realised Angie had genuinely hurt herself and clumsily clambered down to help her stand. He was then very much overly affectionate and peppered her ankle with kisses. When Fred asked what he was doing, he insisted he was making it better.

When Katie emerged from the bathroom supporting an ill-looking Alicia, they decided to call it a night and headed back to Lee's. George carried Angie the whole way, explaining how she was a princess and needed looking after. Alicia stumbled through the streets, stopping a few times to empty her stomach into a bush. Lee and Fred skipped through the city, singing and pretending they were in some sort of musical.

When the twins got back to the Burrow, they tip-toed around the house, shushing each other every few seconds. Somehow, they managed to stumble up the stairs and into their room, but flopped straight onto their beds and passed out immediately.

The next morning, Ginny poked her head around their door to see them both sprawled very clumsily on their beds face down and snoring loudly. She quietly put a hangover potion on each of their bedside tables, carefully helped Bianca sip some fresh water and left again.

Just before lunch time when George woke up with a groan and rolled over, wincing as the mid-day sun hit his face, Ginny came back to check up on them again.

"Ah, finally," she said, "Have a good time last night?"

"Shh," George lazily put a finger to his lips, "You don't need to be so loud."

Ginny laughed, "Sorry," she shouted, "Sore head?"

George looked at her with squinted eyes as Fred stirred too, disturbed by the noise.

"What's going on?" he slurred, "It's too early."

"Tell that to our dear sister."

"I've left some potions and water for you. Mum's doing lunch downstairs but you'll probably want to shower and change first."

"You always were my favourite sister, Ginny," Fred said, managing to pull himself into a sitting position. He looked at George and they both said, "I want the bathroom first," shot to their feet and ran from the room, pushing each other out of the way to get to the shower first.

"What was that crashing noise?" Harry asked Ginny when she got back downstairs.

"That was the twins racing to get to the bathroom first," she laughed.

Half an hour later, the boys appeared in the kitchen, hair still damp and still looking slightly dazed.

"Have a good time last night?" Ron asked with a smirk, "You certainly look like you did."

"Any idea of what you did?" Harry joined in.

"Not a clue," Fred gave a lop-sided smirk, "But I'm sure it was great."

"Hello?" Lee's voice echoed from the living room, "Anyone in?"

Fred and George made their way to the fire place where their best friend's face was projected in the flames.

"Morning," George said, "How can we help you this fine day?"

"Do either of you have any idea what happened last night?" Lee said urgently.

"I can't remember anything past maybe the third round of drinks," Fred said and George agreed.

"So neither of you would know why Angie has a broken ankle?"

George's eyes flashed in shock, "What?"

"The girls all stayed at mine last night," Lee said, "They decided Flooing wasn't really the best option when apparently Alicia couldn't keep anything in her stomach for more than a few minutes. But anyway, Angie's ankle is really messed up. Like dried blood and twisted in a weird direction messed up."

The twins shared clueless look.

"Don't suppose Bea's better?" Lee asked, "I know she could fix Ange up in a few seconds."

"Unfortunately not," George said, "But mum knows how to fix broken bones, I'm sure she'll help."

"So can we come over now? The girls are losing it."

"Sure," Fred got up, "I'll go get mum."

Naturally Mrs Weasley insisted on giving the twins' friends lunch and looking after them for the rest of the day. Once Angie's ankle was fixed, all of the kids headed out to play Quidditch for a while. Each team had two chasers, two beaters and a keeper while Hermione sat on the grass below and read and Lee observed enthusiastically.

The next few days were spent helping Mrs Weasley prepare for the party in a few days' time. Bianca slept peacefully the whole time, completely unresponsive and perfectly still until Thursday afternoon. The rest of her family were starting to become worried and were considering calling a healer but physically there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her, she just lay there, eyes closed, chest rising and falling steadily, eyelids fluttering as if she were having a dream. They'd tried to wake her, but she remained as still as ever.

For Bianca, however, it was the most restless sleep she'd ever had, despite it also being the longest. It was like being locked in a dark room, where she could see or hear anything but constantly felt exhausted and weak but she couldn't close her eyes- they were already closed- and she couldn't sleep- she was technically already resting. Her muscles ached as if she'd run a thousand marathons and her brain lagged. She felt completely drained, emotionally and physically but could do nothing about it.

Five days after the incident at the shop, when she finally opened her eyes, Fred was by her side in a second while George ran from the room to get their mum.

"Hey," Fred said gently, "I'm glad you're awake. No, no, no, no," he said quickly when her eyes started to close again, "Look at me, stay awake. Yeah? Can you hear me?" she didn't respond, but she was looking directly at him, eyes tired but alert, "I didn't think you'd be tired," he laughed, "Not when you've been asleep for five days."

Her head lolled to the side again and he gently placed a hand on her chin to keep it in place, "Come on, I'm not that boring. Please, just try to keep your eyes open. Just until mum gets here to fuss for a bit first."

He stroked her hair gently, "What happened to you, huh?"

George re-entered the room with their mother.

"She's really tired still," Fred said, "But she's fine."

Mrs Weasley stayed with the three of them for a while, carefully feeding Bianca some soup until she had to go and sort dinner out for everyone else. She kissed Bea on the head, "Get some rest."

The twins got up to leave too, but Bianca grabbed Fred's hand and looked at them, "Stay," she mouthed, "I don't want to be alone anymore."

Fred and George didn't know what that meant, but smiled at each other and climbed into Bianca's bed, holding her between them protectively.

"Are you better now?" Bianca asked Fred drowsily.

He nodded, "Because of you."

"Good," she said quietly, "I don't like it when you're dead."

"Me either," George agreed, "He's no fun."

Bianca nodded, "Don't be dead," she told Fred.

"There's no need to worry about that now," Fred said, "Now go to sleep, you'll need your energy for mum's big party tomorrow."

Bianca snuggled into the twin's warmth and took one of each of their hands, smiling contentedly before she went limp in their arms.

On the day of the leaving party, most of the house were up early to do last minute cleaning or decorating and to help Mrs Weasley cook. Mr Weasley and Percy were doing a half day at work while the rest of the family worked and then the three eldest Weasley children and Fleur would pack up their belongings so they could leave the next morning. The twins and Bianca slept in epically but surfaced in time to help tidy up after lunch and organise some last-minute surprises and decorations around the house. Bianca had been extremely sad when she learned of the reason for the celebration and angrily told Bill and Charlie she wasn't impressed with them abandoning her.

By five o clock, people were starting to arrive. Bianca and Harry were immediately distracted by the presence of Sirius, Tonks and, most importantly, Teddy. They sat for ages with the baby on Bianca's knee, doing little charms to make him giggle and give his parents a chance to catch up with everyone else. The house had never been so full of people. They'd got a little carried away with the guest list, inviting friends of all of the children as well as old Order members. Every surface was laden with all sorts of food. Unfortunately, due to rainy weather, they couldn't create more room in the house by going outside so lots of chairs had been conjured up to account for all of the people.

Bianca smirked when she noticed George and Angelina standing to one side talking to Mrs Weasley. George had his hand on the small of Angie's back and was biting his lip nervously. Mrs Weasley had already met George's new girlfriend, of course, when she came to have her ankle fixed, but they'd been distracted trying to heal her injury so now she was being properly introduced.

"Bet that's an awkward conversation," Charlie said, coming over to where Bea was sitting.

"I'm not talking to you," she replied, "You're leaving."

"You can't be annoyed at me for having a job," Charlie laughed, "We can't all live here forever."

"I've barely seen you."

"Well I did come to help fight the battle," Charlie said, "And then stayed because Fred was ill, then you were kidnapped, then Fred died and finally you were ill. You were just too busy to spend time with me."

"I'm not busy now," she said, "And you're all leaving."

"It's not the last time you're ever going to see me," Charlie said, "By the looks of things, there'll be another wedding to come to soon enough."

"George and Angie? They only got together the other night. I hope I'll see you before they get married. Will you be back for Christmas?"

"I doubt it. I've had too much time off this year already."

Bianca scowled, "Have you told mum that?"

"Not a chance. She'd slaughter me."

"Too right she would," Bianca paused for a moment, "I'll miss having everyone around all the time. It's felt like we were all kids again."

"I'd hate to be any small child who lived what we've lived through. The nightmares are bad enough for us."

Bianca nodded her agreement, "You looking forward to returning to normality with all your dragons?"

"I have missed them," Charlie teased, "I wonder of they'll have a welcome back party for me."

Bianca laughed, "Have you got other people to be saying goodbye to, then?"

"Unfortunately," Charlie got to his feet, "Fancy a sleepover down here tonight? Like when we were younger. Just the five of us."

Bianca smiled, "I'm not sure we'll all fit on the sofas anymore but sure."

"Magic is a wonderful thing," Charlie said, "We can extend them. That is if Bill's not too adult to have kiddy sleepovers."

"You're never too old to have sleepovers with your favourite siblings. I'll talk to you later."

Bianca stood up and started making her way through the crowds of people to find someone to talk to. She didn't have to go very far as not long after she stood up, a voice said, "I hear you've been dancing with death again."

She turned around to see Sirius grinning at her and said, "I assure you no pillows or chocolate frogs were involved."

"I'm sure you could have got out of that cave much faster if you'd been armed properly."

"Maybe from now on all always have a satisfactory amount of confectionary on me for protection."

"That's the trick we've been missing all this time," Sirius laughed, "I can't believe it's finally all over. I must say, I certainly didn't think that this would be the outcome when I was arrested all those years ago. I'm glad it turned out so well."

"James would have been proud of everything you've done to help," Bianca said sincerely.

Sirius smiled at her, "You're an amazing girl, do you know that? Don't ever stop. Now, please excuse me, I'm going to locate my godson."

Bianca continued into the kitchen where she found the twins in deep discussion with Hagrid, Lupin and Mr Weasley. She snuck up behind them and jumped onto Fred's back, causing him to stumble slightly in surprise. He rolled his eyes and excused himself from the conversation, carrying Bianca out into the back yard.

"Fred!" she exclaimed, "It's raining!"

"That's an understatement," he smirked, signalling to the flooded ground and the water which was streaming endlessly from the skies. They had been standing outside for mere seconds and already they were completely soaking.

"I thought the crowds might have been a bit much for you. Maybe you'd want some fresh air," he explained.

"Shall we go for a walk?" she suggested.

Fred nodded and put his arm around her, leading her across the yard and out into the fields.

"How're you feeling?" he asked.

"Me?" Bianca laughed, "I'm fine. I should be asking you- you're the one that died, after all."

"I'm right as rain," Fred laughed, "How long do you reckon it'll be before mum lets us go back to the flat?"

"Oh, at least a few weeks," Bianca said, "Maybe a bit shorter if you open up and have a reason to go."

"When are you going back to work?" he asked her.

"Next week maybe. I'll have to write to Alma and ask."

"Will you be up to working full time?"

"I'll be fine, Fred. I know what I'm doing."

He looked at her with big puppy dog eyes which, through his wet hair, looked even more adorable, "I'll miss you."

"It'll only be for a few hours at a time," she giggled, "I did used to work, you know."

"I just like having you around," Fred stopped walking and spun around to look at her face on, "You make me smile."

"I can still make you smile. Besides, you live in a joke shop. There's plenty of things there to make you smile while you wait for me."

"Bea, you know George and I have always done everything together," Fred said, sounding slightly nervous, "And now he has Angie."

"You're not scared he's going to abandon you, are you?"

Fred laughed, "Absolutely not. We'll always be each other's number ones, we both know that. My point is that I don't like George beating me at anything and there's this pretty fabulous girl."

"Oh, you're doing this cliché are you?" she giggled.

"Oh absolutely. Anyway, she's clever, she's brave, she's most definitely the most beautiful person in the world and she's even saved my life a few times. So I thought, why not tell her I've been obsessed with her for years so maybe we can have a take two of our first kiss and she can be my girlfriend?"

Bianca smiled and stepped forward so she could say quietly, "I think that would be a fabulous idea."

Very gently, Fred placed one hand on each of her cheeks and bent down so he could place his rain-soaked lips on hers.


	69. Chapter 69

A/N: Final chapter on Sunday!

Chapter 69

For a few glorious minutes, the freezing rain which had engulfed them didn't seem so cold and the icy wind stopped blowing. Bianca's whole body was filled with the most brilliant warmth and she smiled into the kiss, allowing Fred to pull her closer into his strong embrace. When lightning struck a few blissful minutes later, the pair reluctantly separated.

"Maybe we should go back inside," Fred suggested, watching the streaks of white decorate the black skies, "You're shivering."

"So are you," Bianca laughed.

"It's cold!"

Together, they walked back inside, hand in hand until they reached the back door again.

"One more for good luck?" Fred asked hopefully and Bianca immediately went up on her tip-toes to peck him gently on the lips.

"Is that it?" Fred pouted.

"For now. Come on, you were right with what you said before; it's cold."

Fred gently pushed open the door and they re-joined the party. It looked like a few people had left as the crowds has slimmed and they arrived just in time to say goodbye to Remus, Tonks and Teddy. Bianca gave the baby a huge hug, only causing him to start crying because she was dripping wet. Apologising profusely, she handed Teddy back to his mother and said goodbye to her and Lupin. Fred came up behind her with some warm towels and, after drying them both with a quick spell, wrapped her up in one and put his arms around her.

"What are you doing?" Bianca laughed.

"Warming you up," Fred said simply.

"I'm hungry," Bianca said, pulling away from him and slipping into the kitchen.

"Why are you wrapped in towels?" Ron asked when they entered.

"Because, Ronnie, rain has this magical property that makes you wet when you go out in it."

"Why did you go out in it?" Hermione asked, looking at them over her mug of tea. Bill raised an eyebrow from the corner of the room.

"It's very crowded in here," Bea said, "I don't like all the people in such a small space. I've never been good with crowds."

"You could have gone upstairs," Ron said suspiciously.

"Hey, it's not a crime to go out in the rain," Fred said defensively.

Slowly throughout the night, the guests started to leave and head home and the Weasleys were getting ready for bed. Bill had agreed to stay downstairs with the others as Fleur was planning to head back to the cottage so she could tidy up and get ready for moving back in. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were going to keep them company for a while and then head up to their own rooms to sleep. While they were there, George asked Bianca, "Could you tell us what happened that day at the shop? You're the only one who really knows the full story."

Bianca recounted everything that had happened from the point of her and George running down and finding Fred to the very last thing she could remember in as much detail as she could. This included how she'd neglected to look after George- something he was most offended by- to how she envisioned the curse.

"But how did you know what to do?" Hermione, who had been listening very intently, asked, "You didn't have a wand or any potions."

"When Hartley had me locked up in that cavern, on the first day, he tortured me with the cruciatus curse one-hundred and fifty-three times. By the end of it, as you can all imagine, I was exhausted and half dead. It should have taken weeks to recover, if I was going to recover at all. But the next morning I woke up completely fine. Barely even any pains. That day, when Hartley came back, he used his knife to make one-hundred and fifty-three cuts all across my body. I was completely slashed up and battered so I put my hand on one of the cuts to try and stop the bleeding and when I moved my hand away, the scar was gone. You all know I have some weird powers thanks to…" she trailed off and bit her lip before recovering, "Well, you know, so I assume that it's just because of that and then I just hoped it was something I could use on other people. When Fred got hurt, I had no idea what to do, and all I could think of was what Hartley told me about the curse. I had to try."

"Did your hand glow when you healed your cuts in the cave?" Bill asked curiously.

"No, why?"

"Because when you were healing Fred there was this bright glowing golden light that flowed out of your body and into Fred's. That's when Fred woke up and you collapsed."

"Does your healing magic still work?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know. I haven't tried since."

"Trust me," Bill said, reaching out and taking her hand. He gently held her finger and then very quickly snapped it so that it ended up bent at a very strange angle.

Bianca gasped, "Ow," she breathed, "A bit of warning would have been nice."

"Try and heal it," George said, "Without your wand."

Very tenderly, Bea put her other hand over her broken finger and carefully touched them down. They all waited a few minutes with baited breaths until Bianca separated her hands again to reveal a still snapped finger which was now a lovely shade of bruised purple.

"It doesn't work anymore," Bianca said, "I can't do it."

"You used all of your powers on Fred," Hermione's eyes widened, "That's what the golden light must have been."

"Have you done any other wandless magic since?" Harry asked curiously, "Maybe it was just your healing powers."

Bianca focused on a vase which was positioned carefully on the mantle piece. A few days ago, she would have been able to make the vase fall off the shelf and then prevent it from hitting the floor before restoring it to its place without even getting out her wand. Now, however, she looked ridiculous just staring at a vase as it did absolutely nothing.

"No," she said, "They're all gone." Suddenly slightly panicked, she got her wand out of her pocket and summoned some light, just to be sure not all of her magic had left her.

"So you used up all of your extra magic to destroy that curse so now you're just like all of us?" Ginny asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"No more freaky wandless magic," Bianca asked, "Besides, I think it was for a noble cause."

"No wonder you were passed out for five days though," Charlie said, "You literally lost some of your magic. Part of you was removed."

"For the sake of us all being able to sit here together now, though," Bianca reminded him, "Anyway, in a way I'm glad it's gone. Now I don't have anything that links me back to him."

Conversation moved away from Bianca to Charlie's departure to Romania and Fred took the opportunity to slip his arm around Bianca's and whisper, "You sacrificed your magic for me."

Bianca shrugged and he continued, "Bill and Charlie said you nearly died. You nearly killed yourself so that I could live. And George told me what happened at the Battle. How you were ready to die to save everyone. How can I ever thank you for that?"

"I'll tell you what I told George if you want. That no matter how much either of you love me or I love you, you will always be the most important people in each others' lives. Neither of you would be able to function without the other. I've seen how you look for each other when you wake up or before you go to sleep. I'd hate to know that one of you had to live without the other. Your whole life would be destroyed."

"So you were willing to give up your life for me and George?"

"Of course! No doubt about it."

Fred didn't seem to know what to do with this information, so he decided to wrap his other arm around her and pull her into him so he could rest his chin on her shoulder.

"Please don't ever throw your life away for the sake of someone else. Not even me."

"Fred," Bianca said quietly, "We both know you will never love me like you love George. If I died, you could move on. It might take time, but you could. If you didn't have George, though, just think Fred- you wouldn't have the shop, the flat. Would you still want to joke or prank? You two need each other. More than you need me."

"Bianca, that doesn't mean you're not important."

"I know that Fred. It's no crime to love your twin."

"I love you," Fred said, "So much. And I never ever want to you to die for me or George or anyone else. I need you too."

Bianca smiled and kissed him on the cheek, "The war's over. We shouldn't have to worry about any of that anymore."

When Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny finally retired to bed many hours later, Bill and Charlie summoned some warm blankets and the twins expanded the sofas.

"Well I certainly feel like a twelve year old again," Bill said, "Five grown adults having a sleepover like little children. We should have midnight snacks."

"It's already past midnight," George pointed out.

"That's besides the point," Bill said, "We all grew up way too much and way too fast because of that war. I think we need to grow down again."

"Says the man who is married," Fred said, "You're like a proper adult."

"But right now, my wife isn't here but my siblings are so there is no need for me to be sensible. Therefore," he grabbed the nearest cushion, "I propose a pillow fight."

None of the cushions survived more than fifteen minutes. Feathers and fabric were flying everywhere and, being much stronger than they were when they were little, none of Weasley's remained on their feet long either. Soon, after being either pushed or pulled to the floor, they were all rolling around in the down and tickling each other with the feathers. In the end, not having the energy to clamber back onto the sofas, they pulled all the blankets and repaired pillows down to the floor and snuggled up next to the fireplace.

"Not to be sappy or anything, but I'm glad after everything that's happened that we can still sit here and do this together," Charlie said. He clapped Fred on the back, "I'm glad you're alive too."

"Thanks, mate."

Being the responsible adults that they all now were, the five settled down to sleep on the floor after quickly bidding each other good night. Of course, it wouldn't be a night in the Burrow if someone didn't wake up after a horrifying nightmare. Bianca's peaceful slumber had suddenly become very disturbed when she had been forced to watch all of her friends and family be physically tortured by her father to the point where they were all millimetres from death. She'd run forward and saved all of them with her strange healing power but then, in one horrible green explosion, they were all lying lifelessly on the floor, their voices still floating in the air. Taunting her, reminding her of how they hated her, how she couldn't save them.

She had woken with a start and choked out a horrible sob when she saw four of her brothers lying on the floor around her until she remembered that they were all safe and perfectly fine. It was only four in the morning so she'd only been asleep for two hours, but she got up anyway, stepped carefully over George's sleeping form and tip-toed into the kitchen. The sky outside was dark grey and rain was falling heavily still. The wind mimicked thunder and rattled the Burrow and Bianca watched calmly while she sipped a steaming mug of tea, her hands wrapped around the cup for warmth. She snuggled into her jumper and leant against the counter, happily watching the trees battle against the weather and the clouds and savouring the safety of the Burrow, thankful that it wasn't her fighting for once.

Just as she was finishing her first mug of tea and placing it down on the counter, Fred appeared in the doorway yawning.

"Why are you awake?" she asked, "We literally went to bed two hours ago."

"I could ask you the same," Fred said sleepily, "I woke up and you were gone."

"I had a nightmare," she said, "I just needed some time to calm down."

"You could have got me or George," Fred said, "You can talk to us."

"I don't really feel like talking," Bianca said quietly.

Fred joined her, resting his back against the wall, "Even so, it's nice to have company."

Bianca shuffled to the side so that she was right next to him and he could wrap his arm around her shoulders affectionately. "Let's go back to sleep," he whispered into her hair, "I'm still tired and you look exhausted."

Bianca nodded slightly but turned around so her face was buried in his chest, his warmth and strength bringing her peace.

"Did you tell George?" Bianca asked, "About what happened the other night?"

"Do you really think I had to tell him for him to know?" Fred smirked.

"Course not. No one else knows though? Right?"

"Not for certain. But I think some of them have their suspicions."

"What will mum and dad say?" Bianca asked, suddenly shocked, "We're their kids, both of us!"

"Bea, we've been over this," Fred said calmly, "They have no problem with Harry and Ginny or Ron and Hermione and she loves all of them like children."

"Fred, she raised me from a baby. It's different."

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes, of course."

"Do you want to be with me?"

"Yes!"

"Well then I don't care what mum thinks," he kissed her on the top of the head, "Can we go back to sleep now?"

This time, he didn't wait for an answer and tightened his grip around her waist so he could straighten his back and lift her up. She was still chest to chest with him, her head under his chin so her feet dangled a few centimeters above the ground. Her arms were trapped between their body so she could just squeeze her eyes shut and squeal slightly as he started walking awkwardly back into the living room. He had to waddle slightly as Bianca was preventing him from taking large strides but a few minutes and many giggles later, they were standing next to their makeshift beds. Fred then started swinging Bianca back and forth like a pendulum, building up more and more momentum so that eventually he could throw her up and catch her bridal stile. He smiled at her warmly and then raised an eyebrow before dropping her so that she landed splayed on her back, glaring up at him from a pile of blankets. Next to her, George grunted in his sleep and rolled over disgruntledly. Fred sniggered and lay down next to her. sat down nex"Go back to sleep," he said quietly, "I won't let you have any more nightmares."

A few hours later, Bianca woke up again to Charlie holding a bacon sandwich out to her. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up, stretching her arms high above her head.

"I'm leaving soon," he said, "Thought you might want to be awake when I left."

"Because you know if you left without saying goodbye I would follow you to Romania and murder you?" Bianca smirked.

"Exactly," Charlie gave her the plate and sat on the sofa.

"Where's Bill?" Bianca asked, looking on the floor around her to see that Fred and George were still fast asleep but Bill had vanished.

"He's gone already," Charlie said, "Didn't want to leave Fleur alone for too long. He left early to help Percy move back in and then went straight back to the cottage."

"Percy's gone too?"

Charlie scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Yeah. They figured that because mum's making them come back for Sunday dinner tomorrow that it's not that big of a deal. You were all still asleep."

"What time is it?"

"Half eight. Only me, mum and dad were up when Bill and Perce left if that makes you feel any better."

"Only because it means I'll have back up when I beat them up tomorrow," Bianca said disgruntledly, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Want to help me wake these two up?" Charlie kicked Fred lightly, grinning as his younger brother only buried his head under his pillow and groaned. "Actually," Charlie continued, "Before we do, is there anything you want to tell me?" He looked between Bea and Fred suggestively. Bianca's face turned a lovely shade of red and she looked away, hiding behind her breakfast.

"Thought so," Charlie smirked, "Bill owes me a five sickles."

Bianca chose to ignore him and instead lowered her head so she could gentle press her lips to Fred's slightly parted ones. Not long later he was wide awake and hungrily kissing her in return only to have Charlie throw a cushion at them, "Stop, that's gross."

"That's what you get for betting on us," Bianca raised her eyebrow and smiled smugly.

"Fine! I won't take the money off Bill! Just stop eating each other's faces!"

"You had a bet with Bill about us?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, whether or not you'd be together before we all moved back out. I said you would but Bill disagreed. I reckon that's why he left so early- so he wouldn't have to pay up if he was wrong."

"But he didn't know," Fred said, "We haven't told anyone but George."

"You weren't being exactly subtle last night. We were all suspicious."

Fred turned to shake George awake, "Well now you know. George and Angie are no longer the only sickeningly sweet couple."

A high-pitched squeal came from the doorway and Ginny ran over to Bianca, knocking her sandwich away and screeching things like, "Finally!" and "I'm so happy!". Bianca only laughed while the twins covered their ears and told her off for being too loud so early in the morning. Ginny wouldn't listen and was soon dancing around the room with Charlie. When Mrs Weasley came in to find out what the fuss was about, Bianca pursed her lips but the twins each took one of her hands reassuringly. Being as over-excited as she was, Ginny didn't even think before revealing what she was so happy and then there were a few moments of silence while their mother digested this information. Bianca bit her lip nervously waiting for Mrs Weasley to say something and ignored the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione had come running when they heard what Ginny had said. All three of them were grinning madly but also looking at Molly, terrified for what was about to happen.

"Listen, mum-" Fred started after a few minutes of horrible silence but Mrs Weasley cut him off by opening her arms wide and whispering, "Come here. Both of you."

Fred helped Bianca to her feet and together they approached their mother so that she could wrap them both in a hug which was slightly awkward for her seeing as she was the shortest of the three but, as usual, it was still comforting, warming and loving and, to Fred and Bianca, it meant to world. Broad smiles filled the faces of everyone in the room and Mrs Weasley gripped them tighter.

"I've waited too long to hear those words," she said, tears in her eyes, "You've always looked after each other. I think you're both just perfect."

Fred took Bianca's hand behind his mother's back and squeezed it happily.

"I hate to break up this lovely moment," Charlie cut in, "But I have a portkey to catch at the Ministry so need to be going."

Of course immediately this just meant that the entire family swarmed and surrounded him to say their goodbyes.

"It's not the last time you're ever going to see me!" Charlie yelled over his family's well wishes, "Honestly! Now, you two," he looked Harry and Ginny, "and you two," he turned to Fred and Bianca, "Behave and tell Bill I expect my payment by next week. You," he turned to George, "Treat your girl properly. And everyone look after mum."

He was going to meet Mr Weasley at the Ministry to say goodbye to his father and Percy before catching his portkey to Romania so as soon as he'd said goodbye to everyone at the Burrow, Charlie stepped into the fireplace, smiling sadly at his teary-eyed family and vanished in a puff of green.


	70. Chapter 70

A/N: Final Chapter! I will be uploading the first chapter of book 2 after this so if you're interested in reading it then check it out! I really hope everyone's enjoyed this story and thank you so much to everyone who followed, favourited, reviewed or even just read it. :D

Chapter 70

A month or so later, everything was back to normal. Mrs Weasley finally let the twins move back to their flat with Bianca so they could man the shop. Needless to say that when Fred and George opened up again, the first couple of days were completely insane. They needed Bianca, Lee and Verity to help out full time until the crowds started to die down meaning Bianca could finally start back at her job again.

To start off with, she'd been put on one of the wards they'd set up for kids who were injured at the Battle or in the war. At the time it had been a lot more full but now the only people left there were the ones who had been very seriously injured and were now in their last few bits of treatment. The staff thought it would be a good way for Bianca to get back into the swing of things at the hospital before returning her to her usual position on the spell damage ward. Bianca didn't mind not being assigned her usual job immediately, especially because she either knew the students she was working with or found them to be very sweet. She'd spend lots of time chatting about school with them. One of the particularly cute patients who had been in their first year when the battle broke out was very intrigued by Bea's stories of all the secret hiding places or passageways which she didn't mind passing on.

The young girl was meant to be evacuated with the rest of the underage students but had panicked when she'd thought about her older brother. Wanting to make sure he didn't stay to fight as he was in his final year, she had run back into the school to find him. Unfortunately, before she got to her brother, who had in fact stayed to fight, the Death Eaters got to her and had cursed her legs so that they had shrunk and shrunk until they had vanished completely and she was left with feet coming out of her hips. Thankfully, Oliver Wood had spotted the poor girl who was crying horribly while her attackers laughed and he had come to the rescue before they could do anything worse. Very slowly, the healers at St Mungo's had managed to make her legs regrow and she was getting regular physiotherapy to learn how to walk properly again.

Now, her legs were nearly back to their normal size although the part which joined her knee to her feet were still very badly proportioned and she had no muscle anywhere below the hip. Bianca had felt a strange connection to the little girl because of her loyalty to her brother and decision to go and help him so was happy to share her school secrets with the little girl, assuming that they'd still be there after the destruction the building suffered. She'd tell her stories while they did her daily exercises together and smile as the girl's face lit up at all the possibilities she could explore.

Despite her new relationship with the little girl, nothing could replace the pure elation Bianca felt when she was reunited with Daisy and Kyle back on her ward upstairs. Very suddenly night shifts weren't as painful and long shifts seemed almost tolerable when they were all together laughing. The disgusting, gory or time-consuming emergencies that came in, despite being important and obviously horrible weren't something they feared. Bianca filled them in on everything and explained why it had taken her so long to get back to work one day after their shift had ended and her friends had listened with great interest and horror. Daisy had cried a little before flinging her locker open and grabbing her purse to hand over a few galleons.

"For that hour you stepped in for me," she said, forcing the money into Bianca's hand.

"Don't be silly," Bianca smiled, "Keep it."

"No! No, I couldn't do that!"

"Don't argue about it," Kyle said from across the room, "Someone take the money and use it to buy me a butterbeer."

The girls smiled at each other and together they walked through London to the Leaky Cauldron where they each purchased a drink and sat at the bar chatting for hours.

"The twins will be worried," Bianca said as they saw the sun set outside, "I had better get back. See you tomorrow."

She got to her feet and hugged both of her friends, joking about their upcoming nightshift and then jogged down the alley to the shop. She arrived upstairs in the living room to find George curled up on one of the sofas and Fred leaning against the kitchen counter, both asleep. They were still in their work clothes with ties loosened and shoes kicked off by the front door. They had clearly had a very busy day at work and then come straight upstairs for a nap. Bianca filled the kettle and flicked it on before heading downstairs to make sure everything had been locked up properly. The boys were usually very thorough but when they were both as exhausted as they were, she just wanted to check to be safe. When she got to the shop floor she found Verity still locking up and flicking the lights off.

"Oh, Verity, you're still here," Bianca said, surprised. Normally Fred and George were more proper and always made sure their employees went home safely.

"Bianca!" Verity jumped, "I didn't hear you come in."

"I was expecting everyone to have left. The boys are upstairs."

"Yeah, there was an accident in the store. One of the boys spilt water all over the Whizzbangs and set them all off. Thankfully they have precautions in place to prevent anything catastrophic from happening and only the kid who spilt his drink got injured. George used all of the burn paste they had on him and then insisted they go to the hospital to make sure everything was ok while Fred cleaned up and remade all the fireworks. The customers went insane- the children thought it was amazing and were begging their parents to buy them fireworks and the adult were furious. Although, admittedly, it did look pretty cool when everything went off all at once. It was mad in here for the rest of the day."

"So why are you still here?"

"I don't usually work on Thursdays," Verity explained, "But the boys asked me to come in because George had left and Fred was upstairs. Oh, and because there were loads of angry people demanding refunds or to speak to the manager."

Bianca suddenly felt immensely guilty about going out for drinks instead of coming back to help.

"Don't worry about locking up," she said to Verity, "I'll finish off. You go home. Thanks for helping out today, I'm sure the boys appreciate it."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bea," Verity called as she left.

As quickly as she could, Bianca finished securing the shop, ran up to make sure storage was tidy and then re-joined the snoozing boys in the flat. She tidied away their shoes and finished making them tea before making a start on dinner. Cooking was usually George's area of expertise but Bianca was concentrating very hard on making the meal at least edible. Soon, delicious smells were wafting through the flat and the twins, drawn to the scent, opened their eyes groggily.

"Morning sleepy heads," Bianca smiled from the counter, "Long day?"

"You wouldn't believe it," Fred yawned.

When he spotted what Bianca was doing, George leapt to his feet and took over cooking, joking that he didn't want food poisoning. Frowning slightly at his mistrust, Bianca stepped away and instead leant on Fred's back. He was still slumped over the counter so she could fold her arms over his shoulder blades and rested her chin on them. "Verity told me what happened," she said.

"Verity?" George asked, "She's still here?"

"Of course not, I sent her home. She was tidying and locking up."

"That girl is a lifesaver," Fred said, "She came in immediately when I messaged her explaining what had happened. Lee, the git, said he was busy. We had to get everything sorted with only two people."

"Well I'll help tomorrow," Bianca said, "I have the night shift so am free through the day."

Fred sat up and pulled Bianca into him so that she was perched on his knee, arm around his shoulders while he held her waist. They stayed like that, chatting together until George had finished dinner. They ate together and then went to bed straight away, exhausted after their long days.

It was amazing to have everything back to normal again with no fear of anything bad happening and no threat of war hanging over everyone. Very quickly, the twins had everyone who ever stepped foot in Diagon Alley smiling again and Bianca had passed her third level Healer Qualification. Strong relationships were blossoming everywhere, as Alicia begrudgingly pointed out whenever the seven friends were together. Angie, Bea and Katie made it their personal mission to find Alicia a boyfriend so that she didn't feel left out on nights out. So far they had been unsuccessful but this didn't deter them and they were still desperate to find the perfect man for their friend.

For once, everything was perfect. The twins' business was booming, no one was in danger of dropping dead at any point, the wizarding community was well on its way to being rebuilt and, most importantly, everyone was happy.


End file.
